The Lone Riders
by Flying Jay
Summary: Young Justice wasn't the only team made on Independence Day. A group of six kids, neither heroes nor villains, might have more effect on Young Justice then you'd ever guess. Turns out the world needs more then just the League and their teams to bring villians to their knees and justice into the world.
1. Independence Day

**(Star City July 4 12:04)**

The sky was dark for a midsummer day. The storm clouds did nothing against the heat though, and instead acted as a heavy blanket, incasing all of the citizens in Star City. Two girls were on the sidewalk, walking in a fast and mechanical motion. Every once in a while, one would whip their head around, or eye a passing car; as if looking for someone….or escaping someone.

"Where are we going?" one girl asked. Her tone was formal and business like, and her eyes were trained on the road ahead. She looked to be twelve years old, although a reasonable argument could've been made for eleven or even ten. Her hair was a dark red color, with black bangs hiding her left eye mysteriously.

"You worry too much, Ruxandera."

"I told you to call me Dragon, _Ceridwen_."

"Right, 'm sorry, Dragon." Ceridwen amended. "What is it with you and codenames?" She was tall, with bright golden hair pulled up in a crude bun with chopsticks. The thirteen year old carried on, muttering something in polish, a language that slipped off her tongue more easily than English seemed to.

"This isn't funny, you know? They're after us. They wouldn't have let us escape that easily. If we used our real names people would know who we are and then we'd be found."

"Which is why we're in Star City, isn't it?"

"And here I was, thinking that you just wanted to come here for the fireworks," Dragon replied with a small edge of amusement in her voice.

"Well….they are pretty cool an-"

"Do you smell smoke?" Dragon interrupted, stopping in the middle of the street, looking frantically around. Ceridwen stopped too, watching her friend curiously. "This way," Dragon finally said, grabbing the others arm and began to drag her away towards the smell of smoke. They both ran through the cars, twisting this was and that as to not get hit. Ceridwen wondered vaguely why they were running _towards _the flames (which could now easily be seen peaking above the rooftops). Not that it'd harm her companion, but Ceridwen'd be burned to a crisp.

"Woah," Dragon breathed, pulling Ceridwen out if her thoughts. They had reached the building on fire, and were now staring up at the leaping flames. The top half was collapsing, sending up large clouds of suffocating smoke. The two girls were coughing hoarsely just being near it.

"Who's that? What's she doing?" Ceridwen suddenly asked, point at a figure near the fire. Her long black hair, filled with blue highlights, jumped in the air as the rushes of smoke attacked it. Dragon and Ceridwen missed the imediate danger she was obviously in. Instead they were staring at what her hands were doing. One was making a pulling motion, like a river running over large rocks. The other was straight out pulsing water (yes, water) out of thin air and into the fire.

"She's a meta," Dragon whispered, astonished. They'd thought all the metas would've either been enrolled into the JLA or caught by the Liberty Core. "Ceridwen, look."

"It's going to fall on her!" Part of the building was crumbling, looking ready to turn to ash. Already large pieces were falling to the ground, but the water girl hadn't noticed. "Get her." Ceridwen raised her arms, swinging them up into the air. She looked like a lunatic, as if bowing to the fire. But a little ways off a tree was twisting and moving. It was so close to the fire that its leaves were in flames; but that's what she needed. Its trunk suddenly bent, twisting into a sort of basket under the falling rubble. Just in time it caught a huge piece of flaming cement. "I don't know how long I can hold it," she called to Dragon. But her friend was already gone, leaving only her abandoned jacket on the floor.

**(Star City July 4 12:21)**

Suddenly a dark shadow spread across the lot, forcing even the fire department to look up from their work. In the sky was a girl; Dragon. Only it wasn't Dragon. Because this girl had large, reptilian wings. Someone screamed and Dragon rolled her eyes. They hadn't even noticed a tree moving by itself and a girl controlling water, but they'd scream at a girl with wings? Didn't these people read books or anything? But now wasn't the time…

She swooped down, holding out her hands like superman. In one quick, fluid motion she'd picked up the water girl. Just in time too. At that exact moment the tree snapped in two, leaving half a fiery tree trunk and rubble to collapse into the grass.

""What the hell are you doing?"

"That's what I should be asking you."

"I was making ice cream," she replied sarcastically. "What do you think I was doing? Trying to help!"

"Who? God? 'Cuz that would've been the only person you'd have seen if we hadn't stepped in." The girl looked down, and her eyes met with the smoldering heap of doom.

"Oh….err, thanks….Wait a sec, are we flying?" she suddenly screeched, twisting around in Dragon's arms.

"Yes."

"Cool….Wait, you're another meta, aren't you? I thought I was the only one not taken by the Liberty Core."

"Yeah, whatever. If you're done stating the obvious, who are you?"

"I'm Rose Cane, but my codename's Oceana."

"Codename?"

"Yeah, so the Liberty Core won't find me. Isn't that why you wear a domino mask? To protect your identity?"

"Yeah," Dragon smiled. Maybe she could get used to this girl. At least _she_ understood the importance of a secret identity.

**(Star City July 4 12:26)**

Ceridwen smiled brightly as Dragon scooped up the water girl. Great! Now maybe they could leave before the Liberty Core got there. No matter how light hearted she seemed, she really did not want to go back there.

"Hey! There's someone in there," a voice called from behind Ceridwen. She spun around. In front of her was a tall, lean boy. He had shaggy dark brown hair that curled around his heart shaped face. He reminded her of a cat. His skin was a light golden brown that contrasted with his white shirt. Loose jeans were held in place with a brown belt, and attached to that was a sword.

"What?"

"There's someone in the building. Stay here, I will get them," he replied, pointing to the third floor of the building.

"I'll come with y-"

"No. I will be better off alone," he stopped her. Something in his voice made her think he wasn't only being cautious.

**(Star City July 4 12:28)**

_Great Sona, just great. I'm in a burning building….after a random stranger…why?_ Luckily for the stranger, Sona's rational thoughts were stopped by a strangled cry. He ran over to the sound, towards the third floor. On the first floor things weren't so bad. The ceiling and walls were caving in, the heat was unbearable, and the smoke stung his nose and eyes, cutting off his air supply. Nope, it wasn't not that bad….But the second floor was where he had to start crawling, as to avoid the worst of the smoke, pulling himself across the floor like a snake. His sword, a urumi, cluttered uselessly on the floor. Too bad it couldn't kill flames…or smoke. Now that would've been useful.

"H-Help," a voice called, breaking into loud fits of coughing.

"Can you get to the second floor?" Sona called, struggling to see anything through the thick haze. No reply followed. "I'm coming up. H-hold on," Sona called, trying to bite back coughs. Soon he wouldn't be able to breath, let alone talk. He crawled towards the stairs, trying to be quick. When he reached his target, he clambered up quickly. _Finally!_ Crawling again he crept through the smoke and heat, struggling to breath. In the middle of the room, lay a man. _No, no, no. Please don't let me be too late!_ Sona reached out, fumbling with the man's neck. There was a pulse, a weak pulse, but a pulse. Sona smiled and turned, trying to figure out how to get both him and the man down the stairs. But, his pondering was cut short by a loud rumble. Suddenly, just in front of him, the ceiling began to fall. Flames burst through the roof, as the heat intensified. That escape was out then….

Sona turned to the window, eyeing it warily. Three floors up, with a dying passenger. He would die for sure if he jumped. Then again, staying in here would kill him more painfully. Better make it quick. Pulling the man across the floor, he grabbed a fallen beam. He would have to stand up to smash the window….Taking a deep breath, or as deep as he could when his lungs were filled with smoke, he jumped up. The beam came down, slamming into the glass. Only a small crack showed his efforts. He growled and raised the beam again, and brought it down. The crack widened, but he was running out of air. His head spun, and his eyes stung. The heat was too much. He was going to pass out. Almost unconsciously he raised the beam again, bringing it down. The window smashed, bringing both Sona and the man down with it. _Well, I guess this is it. I hope Father is happy…._He closed his eyes and waited.

**(Star City July 4 18:03)**

Oceana looked down at Sona, smiling happily. He was unconscious, his face consorted into a tight frown. Ceridwen was also staring at him. "Should we wake him up now? It's been hours since Dragon saved him."

"I don't see the harm," Ocean replied. Ceridwen smiled brightly back at her new found friend. Reaching out, she pushed her finger into his cheek. Sona only rolled over and muttered something in a foreign language.

"What's he speaking?"

"A language?"

"What language?"

"….Indian?"

"Hindi," came a muffled reply. Both girls looked down. Sona was stirring, trying to get up.

"I told you I should've come with you!" Sona said nothing as he got up, weakly coughing.

"You sound like hell just died inside of you," Oceana stated, leaning back on her feet.

"Excuse me?" he asked, blinking the haze out of his eyes.

"You gave us quite a scare. We thought you wouldn't wake up at all," Dragon told him. They were all in a dark room, with only two small windows. Dragon had been staring out of one, deciding not to watch Sona sleep like the other girls. It was stalker-ish…. "Don't worry. The man you saved is in the hospital. He's in bad shape, but he'll survive. And you're fine, of course. Which leaves us to beg the question: why the hell'd you run into a burning building alone? And to save some stranger?"

"Why did you save that water girl? Why'd plant girl try to come with me? Why did water girl risk the Liberty Core from finding her by showing off her powers to put out a simple fire? Because I had to. We all have a duty to use our gifts, no matter if they are powers or talents." The three girls shared a few looks, raising eyebrows. He would've sounded very heroic and modest, if he wasn't covered with a thin coat of self-pride.

"Who are you?" Dragon asked, coming closer.

"I am Sahil Aakash Rajesh Quazi. But my friends call me Sona. I was prince of an Indian tribe."

"Was?" Ocean asked.

"Yes, water girl. Was. I was…exiled a month ago, by my father." He looked up at them with smoldering eyes, signaling that the questioning was over.

"I'm Oceana. Not 'water girl'."

"Ceridwen."

"Dragon." The four of them smiled at each other. Something lurked in each one of their eyes. It was as if, in that moment, they shared everything with each other. Every feeling, and every thought. That moment was quickly halted by a loud banging at their door.

**Tada! Sorry if your character wasn't in this chapter. They'll be in the next one. I have something special planned for them. Please review :D They're great motivation. And if you have any ideas for the characters (Who'll have a crush on who. Who you want to see hurt/ killed. Anything you want me to make them do) then tell me. **


	2. Fireworks

**(Star City July 15 18:11)**

Dragon motioned for silence, as the three others joined her on the other side of the room. They all stared at the door, each with bated breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Oceana pulling up a trail of water, and Ceridwen had a thorny rose curling around her arm. Sona unsheathed his sword slowly, placing it in front of them. Dragon frowned in annoyance at his protective stance. They could take care of themselves; it was him she had to save from a burning building! Suddenly the knocking ceased, leaving a frozen silence. Her eyes darted around the room, clenching her fists tightly.

"Do you think-" Suddenly Oceana was cut off as both the windows shattered. Small smoking spheres were chucked through the broken glass. Dragon barely had time to think _knock-out gas_ before she collapsed.

**(Unknown July 15 19:20)**

Oceana awoke to the hard, vibrating floor of a truck. The smell of gasoline was putrid in the air, along with gunpowder. Her hands were bound, feet in chains, and her mouth was with a gag. And there was a metallic collar around her neck, whatever that was. She smirked a bit through the gag. Focusing on the air she pulled and tugged at it, trying to get the water to appear in her hands. Nothing. She tried again, twisting her arm. Still nothing. It looked like she wasn't moving water anytime soon….

She wondered what'd happened. One moment she'd been in some kid of warehouse, the next she'd woken up here. _Okay, concentrate. Who'd be stupid enough to kidnap a bunch of teenage Meta's? ...Well I guess this is the Liberty Core. _

"Get to your feet," a rough voice commanded them. Oceana heard Dragon growl as she scrambled to her feet, finding it incredibly difficult with the bindings. A yelp of pain told her that one of her fellow captives had just been punished. Already, it was beginning. Oceana heard a grating noise, which she guessed was the truck door opening. Feeling hard, unmerciful hands push her forward, she took careful steps towards the outside. Another yelp of pain. She wondered who was still defying them. She hoped it wasn't as painful as it sounded.

Suddenly Oceana's blindfold was ripped off. Stinging light blinded her. Blinking the bright spots away, Oceana swirled around her head desperately. All four of them were tied by the hands, feet, and mouths. They were standing on a lawn, with trim grass carefully cut to perfection and a bright sidewalk. Okay….weird.

Even weirder; there were men surrounding them. They wore thick black coats, covering them from head to toe. Every single one of them was armed with heavy artillery. Which was very,very,very bad.

"Bring them into the facility. Take them to room 005," a tall man said. He had a heavy mess of brown hair and a crude beard. He seemed to be the one in charge, leading the rest of them into a….house. It was quite a small house, with red brick walls and a bright white door. The bearded man opened the door and went inside. Oceana was pushed forward, and she tripped at the opening. That earned a slap to the face. She whimpered at the harsh pain that radiated from her cheek.

'Don't touch me,' she tried to yell, but with the gag it came out as "Dnm tsh mf." The man who'd slapped her chuckled.

"Quiet," the bearded man hissed at them. A bright glow filled the house, and a whirring sound assaulted their ears. Oceana felt movement underneath her feet. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear. And then suddenly they were standing in a completely different building. Tall dark walls enclosed them, made of rock that had a reddish brown hue to it. Clay maybe? It looked kind of like a tunnel, complete with flaming torches on the walls. Oceana was pushed forward again as they began to walk downhill, deeper underground.

They came to a door made of thick iron. A small nameplate was nailed to the top, saying: 'Room 005.' Seemed this was their stop. The man who'd slapped Oceana opened the door, pulling the four captives inside. With a wicked glint in his eye, he opened up four cages (out of the many littering the floor). They looked like dog cages, only big enough for a human to fit inside. At gun point, Oceana climbed in and allowed herself to be locked inside. The rest followed, Dragon growling like an animal, Sona looking highly insulted, and Ceridwen looking murderous. It would've been a little funny, if the situation hadn't been so dire. The men left, none looking back.

"Well...We're screwed." Dragon muttered, leaning into the bars of her cage.

"Screwed?" Sona asked curiously.

"Yup. You know, in a position where there's no way out, in trouble, probably going to die; screwed."

"Not necessarily," Ceridwen started to say before she was cut off.

"Nooo, I'd have to agree with the girl with wings over there." The remark came from a girl on the other side of the room. The girl had long brown hair, snaking its way down her back in a light braid. Her hazel eyes were bright, glinting with laughter even though she, too, was in a thin, slender body was in an energy suit. It was black with bright swirls decorating her chest and legs. On her hip was a whip, curling in a tight bundle. The whip seemed to be attached to the outfit. Next to her was a boy, who looked about the same age as Oceana. His black, shaggy hair covered dark, shiny eyes and glasses. Thankfully, he worse a more normal outfit.

"Errr, hi?"

"Hi."

"Who are you?" Dragon snapped.

"Ghost," Ghost replied.

"Lumanate," Lumanate answered, after a few seconds of hesitation.

"What's your real name?"

"Why do I have to tell you that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because it'll be nice to know."

"Okay, guys," Oceana broke in, rolling her eyes. "Dragon, leave her alone. None of us have to tell anyone what our real names are. It doesn't matter."

"So then what's with the outfit?" Dragon asked, still narrowing her eyes at Lumanate.

"It powers the suit," Lumanate replied with a shrug, "Don't worry. It's not a bomb...as far as you know."

"That was a joke right?" Ceridwen whispered to Oceana, who nodded in return.

They continued talking, discussing how they all came to be in cages. Lumanate had been fighting some bounty hunters when she'd been taken. Once they'd figured out that she wasn't really a Meta, they'd been about to get rid of her, when they had realized one thing: It was impossible to separate her from her whip. So then they'd spent the last two weeks trying to figure out why. "Those idiots," she'd muttered, playing with the end of her whip fondly.

Ghost had been there for three weeks, as they tried to finish the experiments done on him by someone before (That's as much information as they'd gotten about the subject).

Oceana also came to discover that this wasn't the first time Ceridwen and Dragon had been captured. They'd just escaped the Liberty Core three days before. Only it was because of a faulty collar and an early awakening on Dragon's part. So it didn't really help them at the moment. But it still made Oceana feel…a little unneeded and inexperienced. She hadn't been through much in her life like this. After her parents had died in a fire, she'd lived with her aunt and uncle. The two'd helped her with her abilities and left her to her own devices on what to do with them. Although, apart from stopping a few fires, she hadn't done much.

"We've tried to escape five times. None have been successful, obviously. Those guards are always popping up like cockroaches," Ghost told them, sighing.

"Ugh, I hate cockroaches. They used to fill my old school. Once, one fell from the ceiling into my hair. It was gross…" Lumanate told them.

"Well, you didn't have us then," Oceana replied, smirking and ignoring Lumanate.

"You guys are powerless too. Those collars take away our powers."

"Haven't you been able to take the collars off?"

"I tried to use my whip once, but they're too strong."

"What if all five of us were pulling at it?" Ceridwen asked, shifting her position a little.

"That might work! Let's try now."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Ghost asked, looking at who'd been his only companion for three weeks. He looked at her with something of fondness and….a little hidden spark in his eye. Interesting.

"What?"

"We're still inside cages."

"Oh…right."

"I am finished, finally!" Sona suddenly cried, reminding them all, that he was still there. Five heads turned to find him holding up a broken lock and a tiny piece of wire.

"How'd you do that?" Ceridwen asked, smiling brightly at him. Her eyes fluttered a little, and she blushed when he looked at her. Oh boy, this was the start of something _very_ interesting.

"I pulled off a bit of wire from the cage, and then picked my lock. It was how I snuck away from my tribe at night back home."

"That's…awesome." Sona shrugged modestly. He crawled out of his cage gingerly, picking all their locks. Once they were out, Lumanate got her whip. She mumbled to it, something about missing its usage. After that, she hooked it around Dragon's collar and pulled.

"Ow," Dragon snapped, jumping back angrily.

"Sorry…." Lumanate murmured. She motioned for Ghost and Sona to take a hold of her whip too. With her fingers she began to count down from three. Dragon braced herself, waiting. Suddenly the three of them yanked as hard as they could. Dragon fell to the floor, letting out a yelp. When she got up, the collar was absent, a red mark in its place.

"Ow!" Dragon yelped, rubbing his neck.

"Who's next?" Lumanate asked brightly. They all stepped back.

**(Unknown July 15 19:45)**

"You know, in hindsight, we should've just taken Ghost's collar off, then let him take ours off with telekinesis," Oceana told Lumanate, rubbing her neck. Lumanate shrugged, smiling. Ghost suddenly popped up from behind them.

"I can't. It's too tricky. I can only move small things, one at a time. There are so many mechanisms inside…"

"Alright, alright I get it," Oceana told him, putting her arms up in a pacifistic gesture. He grinned at her.

"They're coming," Dragon called, suddenly appearing down the hall. She was running, having no room to move her wings in the cramped tunnel. Behind her, Sona was running, keeping close.

"I guess you were right, Ghost. We should've gone left. I owe you five bucks," Lumanate said, pulling out her whip. Ghost smiled triumphantly.

"Umm, yeah, sorry to interrupt but we're about to be under attack," Oceana snapped. As if on que, at least a dozen guards appeared. "Okay, two each. Go."

Oceana sprang into action, jumping forward. Using the water she's conjured from the air, she sent a tidal wave surging forward. Most of the guards dodged it, but three were slammed into the smooth rock walls. Their bodies folded like paper underneath the weight, twisting like rag dolls. Two of them were knocked out before they even touched the wall. She was about to take care of the third, when Ceridwen jumped in front of her. A thorny plant exploded from the wall, grabbed the man by his neck, and smashed him into the wall.

"Two each, remember," the plant controlling Meta reminded Oceana jokingly, jumping out of the way of a flying body without blinking. "Dragon, be careful. We don't want to kill anyone," she added. Oceana turned around in time to see Dragon stick out her tongue.

"Come on, there'll be more," Oceana said, pulling her friend forward. She was now in full battle mode. They all followed her, running at top speed, and leaving behind their knocked-out victims sprawled across the tunnel.

"What ways out?" Ceridwen asked as they ran.

"No idea. You?"

"I think this is the right way. I can feel the plants above us, but I'm not sure."

"But?"

"But so what if we are going the right way? If we can't find a way to unlock some of these doors, we're going to be stuck down here."

"I wish I knew how to hack into the security system or something…" Suddenly (Oceana was really going to have to get used to this kid) Ghost appeared from behind them.

"I can hack," he told them, smirking.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Oceana cried, almost stopping mid-run.

"I don't know, it never came up."

"Wait, so you think you'll be able to get us out of here?" Ceridwen asked excitedly.

"If we can find my glove. It'll have all my hacking…equipment.

"We can do that. We've gotta find Sona's sword anyway," Oceana breathed.

"Wait, stop," came Lumanate's voice from behind them. The rest of them obeyed, looking at her. "I can't run anymore. Where are we going?" she asked to her teammates, who were folded over and panting.

"We- Uh oh," Dragon jumped up, staring behind Lumanate's shoulder. Oceana followed her gaze, and copied her fighting stance. Two guards, one with what looked like a type of thick glove extension, and the other with Sona's sword had stopped in the middle of the tunnel, looking stunned.

"We may be the luckiest people on the planet right now," Oceana decided. Next to her Dragon sent three small fireballs from her mouth (yes mouth) at the ceiling. The fire hit a swaying lamp, nailed to the rock. It came falling down, on top of the scientists.

"Too easy," Dragon murmured, trying to hide a smile.

"Come on, let's hurry," Ghost said, picking up his glove. "The noise would've attracted attention." Again, straight after he mentioned it, the sound of a stampede filled the hallway. Muttering something about a jinx, Oceana took off running with the other escapees right behind her.

After a few minutes they came to a door. It was built solidly into the wall, with an almost invisible control panel next to it, the same shade of brown-red as the rock. "Ghost, hack" Oceana snapped, turning around to face the storm of guards. She watched as Sona instantly jumped in, swinging his sword with easy movements like flowing water. Ceridwen and Dragon followed him, sending out plants and fire like presents during Christmas. Lumanate and her whip seemed to be doing a tango together, each one synchronized in taking out the guards.

"Can you hurry?' Oceana asked gently, trying to block Ghost from the incoming slaughter with a wall of water. It wasn't working as well as she hoped.

"Almost. Just give me three, two, one…done!" The door clicked open, revealing an elevator. Oceana let out a cry of excitement, as she rushed inside with Ghost. The rest followed, Sona coming in last to knock-out the last guard. They all started moving up, the enclosed space filled with heavy breathing and small giggled of loose adrenaline.

**(Unknown July 15 20:55)**

"I can't believe we did it." Oceana was the first to speak out of the six escapees. They were all standing on the trim lawn of the strange brick house, catching their breath. Ghost had blocked the elevator with his hacking glove…thing, so they had at least a few minutes before they had to run again.

"I know right. I thought we were dead for sure," Ceridwen agreed, smiling broadly. Sona nodded stiffly, looking at Dragon, only to get rewarded with the same response.

"I can't believe we're finally out," Lumanate called, twirling across the grass, laughing. Ghost followed her, smiling.

"Lumanate, come here for a sec," he called to her, chuckling lightly. She obeyed, looking at him like a lost puppy. Suddenly Ghost has his hands around her face, and was pulling it towards his gently. Their lips met, forming into a small, sloppy kiss.

"Ewww, get a room," Oceana moaned, turning away as the two broke apart. Ceridwen and Sona laughed a little, and Dragon just rolled her eyes.

"We should stay together," Ceridwen decided suddenly, crossing her arms. "I mean, most of us don't have any homes to go back to anyway. Not with the Liberty Core after us. That's the first place they'd look. We should make a team. A team of Meta's. We'll be like a mini- Justice League and we'll help people and everything."

"Are you kidding? I don't want to be the Justice League. They're only in for the publicity," Dragon argued. "Plus we can't help people. We can barely help ourselves!"

"Well, that's the point. We can help each other avoid the Liberty Core."

"Well, I will join, Ceridwen. I have nowhere else to go, anyway," Sona smiled, looking up at her.

"We're in too," Ghost agreed, holding Lumanates hand tightly. The two looked seconds from making out again.

"…Well, I guess I better stay. Just to make sure that you guys don't get into too much trouble without me," Dragon muttered, shrugging.

"And that leaves Oceana. What do you say?" Ceridwen asked me, turning her bright eyes up at her hopefully. Oceana wasn't sure what do say. Sure, this sounded like a great thing to do…but she couldn't leave her aunt and uncle. She owed them so much…although if she went back there, the liberty core would just find her again. They had tags on her now. If she wanted her last relatives to be safe, then…this was her only option.

"I'm in," she agreed, smiling.

"Hey look," Lumanate said, pointing up. "Fireworks." And it was true. In the rolling waves of night, dancing amid glowing stars, were bright explosions of fire and hope.

**And that is why we are always out of beer- Oops, wrong story….**

**Review! Tell me your ideas! I'll try to update at least once a week. **


	3. Welcome to Happy Harbor

**(Star City July 17 23:00)**

**(Ceridwen's POV)**

"First Metropolis, then Central, and now Star. Why can't we just stay in one city?" I asked, leaning on a brick wall. We were huddled in a tight alleyway, a flickering streetlight hovering above us. Next to me, Oceana and Dragon were skimming over a map, trying to figure out where would be the best place to crash. We'd settled with staying at abandoned warehouses, and empty apartment buildings. It'd worked out alright so far, but a few of us were getting tired…meaning me.

"Because if we don't, we'll get kidnapped…again," Ghost replied lazily.

"But if you're okay with that, then getting stuck in lab cages it is! Let's go guys," Lumanate chirped, getting off of her seat on the sidewalk. She made as if to walk away, back into the clutches of the Liberty Core. I stuck out my tongue at her.

"Got it!" Dragon cried out, holding up the map triumphantly. Sona jumped three feet in the air, his hand automatically going to his sword. Was it wrong that I loved how he would jump to protect us, almost automatically? I felt myself blushing…shoot.

"Where?"

"There's a hotel on the outskirts of the city. It's near the bay area. It's normally swamped with people passing by, but not that many really stay. No one would notice us coming and going, and there wouldn't be many people to hear noise we make in the room," Dragon told us, rolling up the map to stick in her jacket.

"You seem to know a lot about it, from just a map," I ventured curiously. She shot me dagger eyes, looking ready to breathe fire…literally. But instead, she answered a little quietly;

"I used to stop by there when I visited my dad," she shrugged, as if it was nothing. I nodded, knowing that if I pushed for more I'd be barbecue. Oceana also seemed to realize that, because she quickly started rounding us up.

…..

We began walking down the dark road. I kicked a few stray rocks in my path, which somehow evolved into a game of soccer between Lumanate, Sona, Ghost, and me. But when Ghost began to move it telepathically, I used nearby roots and flowers to trip him. Soon it turned into an all-out battle.

"Guys, knock it off before I melt that stupid rock. We're going to get noticed. And I'm pretty sure they're going to be questions asked about six kids out at midnight" Dragon hissed.

"Chillax, we're just having a little fun!" Ghost argued, his girlfriend nodding behind him. I wanted to argue too, but Oceana sent me a 'please-just-do-what-she-says-before-a-fight-starts' look. So I threw the rock away, letting it fall into the velvet blackness like a drifting feather in a pool of water. As it fell a loud **BOOM **met our ears. It sounded like a gunshot.

"That wasn't the rock…." Sona observed wisely, his hand going to his sword. My ears perked up, trying to catch more. I was soon rewarded by the sound of sharp gunshots. "I'm going to check it out," Sona whispered, running away from our group.

"No, Sona-"

"I'll go after him," I interrupted Oceana, taking off to the sound of my name being called.

**(Star City July 17 23:16)**

"What are you doing, Sona?" I whispered, making the Indian teen jump from surprise.

"What are _you _doing, Ceridwen?" he countered angrily.

"I asked first." He rolled his eyes at my childish tone, muttering something in Hindi. "Nie mam pojęcia co mówisz," I answered in polish. He looked at me sharply, but his gaze softened and he smiled.

"Just watch."

The stars glimmered weakly in the air, outshone by a bright full moon. The water was calm, gently lapping at hard concrete that broke its surface. Scattered across the ground were boxes filled with shipments, being taken from a large boat bobbing up and down in the water. A few men, all with heavy clothing and guns were pulling crates out, panting with the effort. Suddenly an arrow went flying, exploding underneath the men's feet. A gun was dropped, skidding across the cement paved floor. It was scooped up by a large man. He was different than the rest; less clothing and had an aura of invulnerability around him. I recognized him from TV, as a villain called Brick. He held up his gun and aimed it above him. My eyes followed, to meet a familiar face: Speedy. Green Arrows sidekick …or I guess he had been. I'd seen in a newspaper somewhere that he'd quit a week or two ago. Good for him.

"You again! I'm starting to get insulted that Green Arrow's not messing up my operation personally," he screamed. I guess someone hadn't gotten the solo memo….

Suddenly he let loose a bullet. A glowing red bullet. What were these villains using these days? I found myself holding my breath as Speedy dodged, jumping higher across the wide metal beams.

"We've got to help him," I hissed at Sona. I smiled as he nodded, raising his already unsheathed sword. We both rushed in, just as Speedy let loose an arrow that blew up Brick's gun, along with leaving his shirt in tatters.

"Do you know what I pay for a suit my size?" Brick asked, his voice seething with rage. _Seriously_? That's what he was worried about? Brick really needed to get his priorities straight. "Scorch the earth, boys," Brick added, turning to his henchmen. I took that as my signal to jump in. Concentrating, I pulled up a few roots from the ground, letting them curl quickly around the unsuspecting gunman. Just as the triggers were pulled, the roots tightened, bringing them all into one pile. A loud crack of four skulls being thrown together split into the air like thunder. I let them fall, knocked-out.

I turned to see Sona going up against four more. His sword was a blur, twisting in the air like a leaf in the wind. He jumped up, using one guy as leverage to do a backflip onto another. Guns and men dropped like flies at his feet. I found myself smiling, my stomach going crazy with butterflies.

While we were knocking-out his gunmen, Brick pulled up a piece of concrete as wide and as tall as me. Throwing it with as much force as he could muster, Brick sent it sailing over to Speedy. The teen ducked, just barely letting it sail over his head to smash into a wall behind him. Living up to his name, Speedy sent another exploding arrow at Brick. It hit his shoulder, sending up a cloud of smoke. At first it seemed to work, but instead a rock was hurled out of the cloud of smoke, narrowly missing the archer by a centimeter. By then, Sona had joined Red Arrow up on the rusty beams above us. He cut the rock in two with his sword.

"Who are you?" Speedy snapped, his hand itching for an arrow.

"Prince Sahil Aakash Rajesh Quazi." Speedy blinked underneath the mask. "…Sona."

"Speedy," Speedy greeted, nodding. "Woah, look out," he shouted, suddenly jumping away from another huge boulder of cement. Sona's eyes widened in alarm as it hurled towards him, only to be stopped a hair's breadth away from his nose by a root plowing through it. He smiled at me as I gave him a thumbs up.

We turned out attention back to Brick, who was laughing as smoke slithered away from him. It seemed Speedy had shot another arrow. We weren't getting anywhere with this guy…

"Tell Arrow he shouldn't send children to do a man's job," Brick laughed, gesturing to the three of us. That seemed to hit a nerve, as Speedy had chosen another arrow and was aiming it with narrowed eyes. A deep scowl was etched on his face. "Go ahead," Brick invited, spreading his arms out wide. The arrow flew through the air, hitting its target perfectly. The villain looked down, surprised at the lack of an explosion.

"Did it work?" I whispered to Sona, having by now joined him next to Speedy. Sona smiled, and pointed at Brick. I turned back to him, and found the meta human covered in bubbly red foam. "Nice," I said to the archer, grinning at him. He ignored me, turning around to leave.

"You're welcome," Sona muttered, sounding annoyed.

"I didn't thank you," Speedy replied, not bothering to turn around. "Tell the Justice League I don't need their help. I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a babysitter or a clubhouse hangout with the other kids. Your junior justice league is a joke. I already told Robin, Kid Flash, _and_ Aqualad, it's something to keep you busy, and in your place." The last words were filled with venom, and hissed like a snake. He had disappeared into the shadows by now, adding as a goodbye, "I don't want any part of it."

My eyes widened under the mask, meeting Sona's lost expression. "What was that about?" I asked.

"I don't know…."

"So I guess we should move again, before Brick blabs?"

"Agreed."

**(Happy Harbor** **July 18, 11:16)**

"I think this place will do well," Oceana decided, running her hands over a plush red couch. We'd managed to break into a room (much more comfortable then a warehouse) in a large and busy hotel. No one would question our comings and goings. Perfect. I jumped onto the coffee table, sitting cross legged in the middle. Dragon rolled her eyes at me, before sitting down on the couch.

"We're back," Lumanate's voice greeted from the window. I looked up, to see her and Ghost climbing the ivory wall I'd made, each with bags of McDonalds in hand. Oceana and Sona ran to help, pulling them in through the window. Once inside, the couple quickly began passing out the food. I accepted my fries with a smile, still on the coffee table (much to Dragon's annoyance). We all dug in, munching silently.

"So, what are your real names?" I asked, popping a fry into my mouth. The remark was met with frozen stares and jumps of surprise. So much for casual conversation.

"I thought we didn't have to tell each other that," Dragon accused, her eyes flashing gold…well that was weird.

"Well you told me, why not the rest?" I asked.

"Still don't trust us, _Dragon_?" Lumanate asked, joining me on the coffee table. I smirked into my food.

"I trust you just fine, _Lumanate,"_ Dragon replied. "I just don't see why we have to spill all our secrets."

"It's just a name. Nothing more."

"Then why do I have to tell you? And last I remember you weren't too eager to tell your name either."

"That's only because we were in the Liberty Core…place. I'll tell you now…unless Ghost's bugged the room so that he can listen in on our conversation."

"What? I would ne-" Ghost began.

"Go get them," Sona interrupted, hiding a smirk. I smiled at him lightly, as Ghost disappeared

"As I was saying, I'll tell you my name," Lumanate said, smiling at her boyfriend.

"Okay fine, you tell me yours and I'll tell you mine," Dragon agreed.

"Ellie Ross." Well that was easy…Dragon opened her mouth, as if to say something, but close it. She repeated the motion twice more, staring at Ellie as if she'd just broken a secret vow.

"Come on, your promised," I whined.

"Ruxandera Alice Code," she finally said, letting herself fall back into the couch in defeat. Me and Ellie high-fived, giggling.

"I'm Starr Powers," I added, chewing on an extremely long fry.

"Powers?" Ghost asked, snorting into his milkshake, which was floating before him telepathically. "Fits, doesn't it?"

"Guess it does," I agreed, smiling.

"I'm Cole DeNiro," he told us.

"Nice to meet you, Cole," Oceana smiled. "I'm Rose Cane."

"Nice to meet you, Rose," I chirped. Behind her, Ruxandera rolled her eyes.

"We need a name!" Ellie suddenly gasped, jumping up.

"Why?" Ruxandera asked. She looked up from her burger, which she'd just been warming up with her breath. Her wings had been freed from her jacket, and were now splayed out across the couch, taking up the rest of the room.

"…Beause…"

"It'd be cool," I came to Ellie's rescue. To my surprise, Ruxandera just shrugged, and went back to her food.

"What about Lone Riders?" Rose asked, drinking water from a bubble in the air.

"Weren't they criminals?" Sahil asked, as he unbuckled his sword and tossed it next to him, in order to get more comfortable on the couch. We all looked at him. "What? I learned American history while in India."

"So then we'll be the good Lone Riders," I decided, smiling at my new teammates, and hoped to god that this didn't blow up in my face.

**(Happy Harbor July 18 11:40)**

"You know, I always loved the docks," I screamed over the noise. Sona grabbed my hand tightly, along with Dragon's and pulled us away from the flying ships.

"This is just our luck," Dragon muttered, "The one time we go out to _pretend to be normal _the place is attacked!"

"It's just tornadoes, Dragon," Sona argued, not even flinching as a car landed a few feet away from us.

"Have you ever seen three tornadoes act like this? At the same time? It's like they're _trying_ to kill us!" I argued, jumping back as a piece of wood went whizzing past my head. I pointed to one of the tornadoes, as it turned back around to demolish a building.

"Hey, look!" I turned my head around to Lumanate, who was hidden behind some trees with the rest of the team. She was pointing at something centered in the middle of the three whirl winds.

"Certainly this will get the acquired attention," A robotic voice sounded….what was going on?

"Well, you've got ours," I screamed back, running into the mess of flying debris. Surprisingly, no one tried to stop me. "Who are you?" I asked, pulling up the surrounding trees.

"Apologies, my name is Mr. Twister," the robot replied. He was tall, and muscular, with blue tubes coming out of his metallic skin. He seemed to be the one controlling the twisters…interesting.

"Well, Mr. Twister, are you going to stop, or am I going to have to make you?"

"Your threat is laughable. Children like you cannot stop me."

"Wanna bet?" I asked. A tree came flying out, smashing into the hunk of junk. Mr. Twister pulled away at the last second, bending in an uncomfortable way. Oceana suddenly appeared from behind, pulling up water to smash into the robot. We were both blown away, crashing into the ground.

"Ugh!" I moaned, "Nice of you to join me."

"You should've waited."

"Where's the fun in that? Those who wait miss opportunity."

"And those who use their heads, get to live another day."

In front of us, Ghost and Lumanate were working together. Ghost was pushing the robot's tubes in odd angles, letting his girlfriend hack them off with her whip. Sadly it did almost nothing except annoy Mr. Twister and they were both hurled back into a church. Wow…we'd just destroyed a church…We were in so much trouble.

Dragon wasn't even trying to fly; knowing that as soon as she did Mr. Twister could easily break her wings with one of his tornadoes. The fire that was coming out of her mouth was barely seeing the light of day until it was snuffed out by the wind.

"You don't have a plan by any chance, so you?" Sona asked, coming to my side.

"Nope, you?"

"We could try talking to him?" Ghost offered, suddenly appearing to help Oceana up. Just as he said this Dragon was thrown back, into a wall. When she got back up she had a look of pure murder on her face.

"Somehow, I don't this that's likely. But I might have an idea?" I offered, smiling….

…

Dragon stepped up, smirking at Mr. Twister. It had gotten strangely calm by now, since the civilians had all gotten out. "Your presence here is a distraction I will no longer tolerate," the robot growled, pulling up another tornado. As it sprung up Dragon jumped away, using her wings to help her dodge the killer wind. If she spread them out lightly, she found that she could glide away from the wind, instead of fighting it and didn't get her wings torn in two. Another was sent her way, which she dodged too. As Mr. Twister was distracted Ghost suddenly appeared from nowhere.

"I could say the same for you," he yelled, raising his arms. Suddenly, a force pushed Mr. Twister back, onto the road. I raised my hands from my hiding place, strapping the robot down with twisted roots.

"Lumanate, Sona, get his arms," Oceana called, nodding to the source of power. The two non-metas nodded. But before they could come closer, electricity sprung up from Mt. Twister. I winced in pain as it attacked my plants, turning them black. Suddenly the pain was soothed. I looked up to see our enemy doused with floating water, which was sparkling with electricity.

"Let's see how you like it," Oceana growled from behind me. Through the water I could see Mr. Twister shuddering from the force of his own electricity, and pieces of metal came away from his body. Nice…

As soon as Oceana released the water, Lumanate and Sona were on top of Mr. Twister like wild dogs, using their weapons to hack away at the now useless pile of junk. "We win," I said, smiling.

"Who are you?" a voice suddenly asked from behind me. I turned around, to be met with a group of strange looking teens.

…..

We all stood in the middle of the now destroyed Happy Harbor docks. The other teens surrounded us like a pack of lions on a fallen antelope. The dark-skinned Atlantian introduced himself as Aqualad. The scowling Kryptonian introduced himself as Superboy. The green skinned Martian introduced herself as Mss. Martian. And the red head and small raven haired boy were Kid Flash and Robin. So, we were being cornered by famous, trained, sidekicks….Shoot.

"So, if I am correct, a group of untrained children, just beat Mr. Twister?" Aqualad asked.

"Yes," Oceana answered, "You're not the kids with powers." Behind Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin were looking completely pissed. Correction: We were being cornered by the famous, trained, and _pissed off_ sidekicks.

"Yeah, but even we couldn't beat him!' Kid Flash said, throwing up his arms.

"Well then, I guess you're just not as amazing as you thought you were," Ghost answered, shrugging.

"Oh yeah? Well I-"

"Hey, wait a second. I know you!" Robin cried, pointing at Ghost "You're wanted for murder!" A few shocked seconds of silence went by. Did he just say that Ghost was wanted for murder? Ghost? I mean, sure if it was Dragon, or even Sona, I might believe him, but Ghost? There was no way!

"That's a joke, right?" Lumanate asked. "Because it's not a very good one. And if it isn't, then I want to see your proof right n-"

"Lumanate, that's enough," Ghost said sharply, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's not a joke…I am wanted for murder." I gasped, my eyes widening.

"What?" I spat, as Lumanate pulled away from him.

"What do you mean you murdered someone? Why?"

"I- I was forced to. You have to believe me, I didn't want to. But she would've killed me and my brother. I…I'm so sorry. I know it's no excuse. I'll leave ri-"

Suddenly his lips were silenced by Lumanate's, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. When they broke apart, she smiled at him lightly. "You're not going anywhere you idiot. If you say you were forced too, and it wasn't your fault, then I believe you." She turned to look sharply at the rest of us, her eyes narrowing in a very un-Lumanate manner. "And if anyone else has a problem with it, then they'll have to answer to me." My eyes flickered to Robin, and the rest of his team. They weren't going to back down.

"And me," I said, taking a step forward. Not that I looked much like a threat.

"Me too," Sona added, unsheathing his sword.

"You will have to deal with all six of us if you expect to take Ghost in," Oceana told the Team. Behind her, Dragon's mouth glowed with fire. Roots and trees bent towards our new enemy, ready to lash out at a moment's notice. The water in the ocean began to bubble and twirl, shaping itself into thousands of tiny bullets. We could take them….

"There is no need for this," Aqualad said, putting his hands up in a pacifying gesture. "We will let Ghost go."

"But Aqualad-"

"But be warned, one step out of line, and we _will_ bring you down." We all looked at Oceana, who by now had seemingly been chosen as leader. For the time being anyways….

"We understand. Thank you."

"Oh and here," Robin added, throwing her a small device. It was round, with a screen in the middle. "In case we ever need to find you again….or if either of us needs help."

"Did the oh-so-high-sidekicks just ask for help?" Dragon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're not sidekicks," he replied with a growl before climbing into a red ship. They flew away leaving us in the middle of Happy Harbor, and wondering where our next home should be.

**And so it begins *Dundundunnn*. Just wanted to say that the scene with Brick was exactly the same as the scene in the show…well except for Sona and Ceridwen being in it of course. But I'm very proud of myself for using all the dialogue correctly. :D **

**Sorry it took so long for me to write this. I had a hard time with it, and I'm not very proud of it. Sorry. Next chapter will be better.**

**Also, Red Arrow thought that Sona and Ceridwen were part of The Team, with Rob and KF, so that's why he was so rude to them. You know, in case it wasn't clear before. **

**And Sona didn't tell the team his name because he already did before, so it's good. **

**Some filler chapters are going to be coming up, so if you want some of the characters doing something, or have any ideas for me then please tell me. **

**Oh and who do you vote to be a couple? Yes, there can be gay couples in this ;)**

**REVIEW! Please. **


	4. Schooled

**(Gotham August 3 5:00) **

**(Sin's P.O.V)**

"Run!" I hissed at my companion, who stumbled awkwardly in front of me. I wanted to jump in front of him, to sprint away from the incoming danger. But if I did that, then there was a good chance that he wouldn't be able to keep up. And there was no way I was leaving him.

"Go ahead of me," a panted response came. I grit my teeth. It was like he could read my mind…but no, that was _my_ power. I shook my head, too out of breath to answer. I turned sharply down a dark street, wishing that the sounds of pursuit would die down already. "I have a plan," he amended, managing to flash a grin at me. I hesitated, but then obeyed, scampering down the dark street.

When I risked a look behind me, I found my fellow escapee already closing the distance between us, a deep puddle of water flooding the street behind us. The tall buildings that blocked out escape path were slick with water as well, frost building up from where he had chilled the liquid. That should slow down Batman for a few moments, even if he used his grappling gun.

I suddenly veered of course, bounding into a small closed of area, with a fence to close us off from prying eyes. Leaning on the wall, I took in lungful's of air, trying to blink away the black spots that covered my eyes. When my breathing regulated from the gasps of a dying man, to the small pants of an exhausted soul, I managed to speak again. "Can you go on for much longer?"

"As long as it takes, Will. How many arrows you got left?"

"Enough to last, Manu. If we can reach the Metropolis border, then Batman won't follow us in," I breathed. Manu nodded.

"Will?"

"Hmm?" I looked up at my friend, in time to see his face lean close. Then, suddenly, his lips were on mine, brushing gently. His hand had gone up to cup the back of my head, hesitantly pushing us closer together. At first I was too shocked to react, but gradually the realization came over me. My best friend, my partner for years, was _kissing_ _me_! And I, Mr. way-too-busy-with-the-whole-being-forced-to-train-and kill-as-an-assassin-for-a-relationship-_straight_-guy, was kissing back. And, honestly, it was wonderful. The way he was lightly pressed up against me. The way his fingers gently traced small patterns on my wrist, as our lips danced perfectly. The way explosions of fireworks were going off in my stomach Wonderful.

Finally we had to break apart, gasping for air once again. I felt a small blush travel across my cheeks, as he grinned at me. "Just in case," he whispered. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was cut off by a small noise a few feet off.

"Let's go," I said instead, twisting around to run back down the street. As I did, I prayed desperately, that if there really was a god up there, to please let us reach Metropolis safely…

**(Metropolis August 3 5:00)**

**(Dragon's POV)**

"Oh, come on guys, it's not _that_ bad….is it?" Rose was walking around the abandoned warehouse she'd found, her hands absentmindedly beating water into the walls to get the dirt off.

"It's…umm…big?" Starr offered, looking around the place distastefully.

"…and I bet this glass will…come in handy…sometime," I murmured, nudging the huge pieces of broken window.

"Yeah, and the dirt proves it hasn't been used by the Joker as a…hideout…yet," Cole added. He was sitting on the floor with Ellie and Sahil, using chalk to play Tic-Tak-Toe on the floor.

"Told you we should've just gotten a hotel room like normal people," I muttered. Rose looked at me with an angry glint in her eyes.

"Well I couldn't find a hotel that wouldn't notice us moving in, all right?"

"Then why not just buy an actual room for once?"

"Because we used up all our money already! Why can't we just-"

"Don't even say it."

"Say what?" Sahil asked, looking up from the game with his eyes narrowing. "Are you keeping secrets from us?"

"Wait, what? What secrets?" Eliie asked.

"No, don't worry guys. No secrets…" Rose soothed.

"No secrets my ass," I muttered. All of us knew that everyone in the room had at least one major secret. Cole was wanted for murder for crying out loud! And I'm pretty sure we all wanted to know why Sahil was exiled. Rose glared at me.

"…Apart from the usual ones." She amended lamely.

"Then what did you guys mean?" Cole asked. Rose looked at me, now looking completely lost for words. I sighed. Looks like there was going to be a repeat of the argument me and her had yesterday….but maybe the others would back me up so that we could settle this once and for all.

"Rose wants to go asking the Justice League for help, like a bunch of bloody beggars."

"Bloody?" Ellie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No! I want to go and ask them for help before we get killed, or worse, captured," Rose said, looking straight at Starr for help. "They can protect us. Maybe even take us on as their sidekicks."

"I think you may need to get your priorities straight," Ellie muttered, before going back to her game with Sahil. Cole and Starr, however, stuck to the argument at hand.

"We can't go asking them for help! You know how that would make us seem? After helping their precious sidekicks like that…and then admitting defeat... No, just no! We've managed to earn just a tiny bit of respect for all Meta humans out there that aren't heroes. Don't make us take that away," I argued, pretty much just repeating my thoughts from yesterday.

"Well, we do need help," Starr pointed out. I grit my teeth as I felt the start of a burning sensation at the back of my throat. Of course Starr would help Rose. Ever since we joined this little festival of freaks, it was like our past together never happened. "We're out of money…and, I mean, we're living in a warehouse for Pete's sake."

"Wait a second," Cole interrupted, "First of all, why would they help us? In case you haven't forgotten, I'm wanted for murder!" Finally, someone who was thinking straight.

"Well...you never actually told us about what really happened with the...murder...thing..." Starr murmured quietly, looking down.

"Guys?"

"Really, we're getting into this?" I snapped. Of course this'll be brought up _now_.

"Guys..."

"Well, he did murder someone Dragon. Whether he wanted to or not," Rose cut in. Her bright eyes flashed defiantly at Cole, who flinched at her words.

"Guys."

"Okay, look," Ellie said, jumping up to join in the argument, "We all have our secrets, don't we? We all have our pasts. But that shouldn't matter. This team should be for those who want to start over. I don't know about you, but I would trust Cole with my life and what he's done in the past doesn't matter!"

"Well, to you it might not matter, but if we're going to have to be avoiding both the Liberty Core and the Justice League at the same time …. I don't know if I can do that."

"Guys!"

"What, Sona?" I snapped, turning around to face him.

"The device thing Robin gave us is beeping..." We all spun around to look at the 'device thing', our argument momentarily forgotten. What Sahil had said was true. It was beeping and lighting up rapidly, like a Christmas tree, or signal-...Damn!

"Guys, we gotta get-" Suddenly the door to our warehouse sprung open. In came a flash of red, with a blue streak right behind it. If I had blinked, I would've missed the arrival of the exact people we were trying to avoid. We were idiots...

"They're kids?" the Flash asked, blinking as he finally stopped running circles around us.

"The team _did_ say they were young...," Superman murmured, blocking the door with his hulking figure.

"And you're the kid who killed so many people?" Flash asked, turning to Ghost. He received no answer. By now the six teens had grouped in the middle. Sona and Lumanate pulled out their weapons. I could feel roots moving under my feet. I hoped Ceridwen would throw some Roses in there…some thorns would be handy.

"Oceana, ce facem?" I asked, accidently slipping into Romanian. Luckily they didn't seem to notice. We all stood frozen, as if someone had stopped the clocks. A few seconds went by, covered with a stare down.

"Are we really going to fight the Justice League?" Ceridwen asked.

"Technically it's only Flash, and Superman," Ghost pointed out.

"So, we're only facing the most _powerful_ heroes in the League. Not that big a deal right?" Sona asked, glancing at me nervously. I smirked back at him.

"We can take 'em!" I yelled. Suddenly with my feet, I pushed up the shards of glass (I knew it'd some in handy…) into the air. "Ghost!" He nodded soundlessly. The pieces of glass pivoted in mid- air, to then be sent backwards, towards The Flash. Of course, he easily dodged it, and went right into the huge blast of flames I sent his way. At first I thought we'd gotten him, only to find myself in one of the corners and hand-cuffed to a wall. Next to me were Ghost, Oceana, and Ceridwen. I cussed loudly, watching as Lumanate lashed her whip at Superman. She blinked in surprise as it harmlessly bounced off his skin, doing nothing but tearing his shirt. Sona got the same result. The two soon found themselves chained to the wall with us as well.

"I thought that would've been harder," The Flash muttered, grinning at us.

"So did we," Lumanate murmured truthfully. Well it was official; we were screwed.

**(Washington D.C August 3 7:22)**

**(Hall of Justice)**

"With all your high-tech gadgets and superpowers, and it still takes us two and a half hours to get to D.C?" Ceridwen asked mockingly. I smirked, wishing I could point out how stupid _Superman and Flash _looked in the tiny jet, but they'd put a fire resistant gag over my mouth. And this weird metal bar was wrapped around my chest so that I couldn't use my wings. Ceridwen and Oceana had their hands tied behind their backs, shoulders at awkward angles. They needed their hands to control water and plants, so there would be no hope for a rescue on their part. They hadn't been sure how to stop Ghost's telekinesis, so they simply knocked him out with something green in a syringe. Lumanate and Sona had their hands tied as well, with small rags around their faces with anesthetic on them. So now the two were laid out on the floor with drunken dizziness filling their heads.

When we arrived Superman and Flash said nothing, just pushing us forward through a back entrance that the media didn't know about. "Where should we take them? Not the Watchtower, right?"

"We'll leave them here until the cops can come. Put them in cell 002." Superman decided.

"Or you could let us go?" Oceana asked, looking up at them. The two heroes ignored her, instead staring intently ahead.

"Wait a sec, I know Ghost apparently murdered some people, but why are you arresting the rest of us?"

"Way to be loyal, Dragon." Oceana muttered with venom, rolling her eyes.

"You were protecting a criminal," Flash pointed out, smiling at me as if…actually I had no idea. Maybe he just smiled a lot or something?...I never really understood heroes. "Here we are," Flash added.

Ahead of us was a row of cells, with small glass windows and empty cement rooms. After typing in a long and complicated code, Superman pushed us through a door and into one of the cells. I growled savagely at him, narrowing my eyes. I watched as he dragged Ghost over next to me, tying up his hands as well.

"You know, we can escape anytime we want. I can control the water in your body," Ocena said.

"No you can't," Flash replied, staring at us as he punched in the code again.

"Well I _can_ make a tidal wave break the door down."

"Rose Cane, you can do nothing with water when your hands are tied. And your teammates here can do nothing."

"How do you know -"

"Your file. We do our homework on criminals." With that last remark, Superman and Flash left us.

**(Washington D.C August 3 7:40)**

"Ceridwen, 'ill oo _please_ s'op dat kno'ing?" Sona asked, his voice slurred with drowsiness from the anesthetic. _Knock Kn-knock_. I felt the urge to break Starr's hand.

"Ceridwen, stop it!" Oceana snapped.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry…" _Knock Knock Knock_

"Starr, I swear-"

"That wasn't me, Oceana." I looked up at them all, blinking.

" 'en who wah kno'ing?" Lumanate asked. '_It was the ghost of Christmas past!' _I thought sarcastically. I was really missing the use of my voice right now.

"I don't know," Oceana told us. Looking at the wall suspiciously, she wriggled a little forward, having trouble with her bound feet and hands, and then threw her fists against the wall. Silence. "I guess it was n-" _KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_. She pushed herself away from the wall as if it had burned her.

"….I knew it! Santa's real" Ceridwen cried, jockingly. I raised my eyebrows at her. "Hey, we're being held in cells by a league with four aliens, guys with rings that work on will power, a dude that dresses up as a bat, and someone who can break the sound barrier with their sneakers."

Point taken.

"Be quiet for a second," Oceana hissed, as Ceridwen wriggled her way over to Oceana and me. Using her head, she tapped the wall lightly. There was an instant reply, copying the same rhythm. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey," came a muffled reply. I gasped in surprise.

"Are you in the other cell?" Starr asked. I glanced at Oceana, who seemed a little but put-out that she wasn't the one speaking. I smirked.

"Yup. What'd you guys do?" the voice replied, sounding light and amused. This was all a game to them…

"We did nothing…"

"Uh huh."

"….Okay, one of our friends killed someone."

"Small world."

"You killed someone too?" Ceridwen asked, surprised. Great, we were talking to a psycho killer. This day just kept getting better and better!

"Many, many people my friend. But we were forced to, you know?"

"Err no, not really. Did you say we?"

"Yup, there's two of us."

"Does either of you two know a way to get out of here then?"

"As a matter of fact, we do. We'll let you come with us if you don't slow us down."

"Uhh…."

"Great. We'll be right there." Came the cheery voice. I blinked at Ceridwen. That was the last time she was doing the talking. Suddenly there was a clanking noise next door. A loud yell, followed by a groan and thud.

"I guess they got out?" Lumanate asked, smirking. At that moment the door was blasted open, revealing two boys smiling at the opening….Yeah we were doomed.

**(Washington D.C August 3 7:40)**

"So who exactly are you?" I asked one of the boys, who had recently removed my gag and bindings. His hair was black, cut to a very neat buzz cut. His light brown eye sparkled with life and amusement, which made absolutely no sense to me. He was clothed in what looked like a scuba suit with a shark jaw picture on the front. He had no shoes, but a mask covered his cheek bones and forehead. I could see deep burns peeking out of the edge of his costume, along with an array of scars.

"I, uh…I used to be called Shark Bait…" he replied.

"Used to?"

"We quit the assassin business last year, but Batman still wants us for murder."

"You too?" Ghost asked, unexpectedly. I looked over to see one of the assassins had woken him up…somehow. I really didn't want to know, although the syringe in his hand seemed as much an explanation as I needed.

"What do you mean?" Lumanate asked her boyfriend.

"Those assassins were the ones who forced me to kill for them."

"Great, we're helping three assassins," Ceridwen muttered, shaking her head.

"Actually, we're helping you." Shark Bait corrected.

"Whatever. What are your real names?"

"Manu Kahuanui."

"And him?" I asked, pointing to the other assassin. He had white, spikey hair that grew from his head like weeds. His bright blue eyes shone like stars, with no mask to cover their light. He was thin and wiry, and a few inches shorter than what would have been considered normal. Like his friend, he had a scatter of scars across his tanned skin. He wore black pants and boots. His jacket was also black, but had white along the hemming and waist. He also has a black bow slung over his shoulder, and a white quiver with matching arrows. His face held a dangerous cold to it, and his voice was like frost as he spoke.

"You can call me Sin."

"You don't have a real name?"

"Who told you that?" he spat. I glared at him back, but he just ignored me.

"So…do you guys want to continue this tea party, or can we leave now?" Shark Bait asked, smiling as Oceana's binds came loose.

"Let's go," I muttered, pulling ahead of them. When I got out the door, I was met with the limp form of Hawkwoman, laid out on the floor. Well, now I knew how Sin got his quiver back. "Ummm…"

"Don't worry, she's not dead," Sin replied, narrowing his eyes.

"That's not what I was thinking."

"I can read minds." He pushed ahead of me, with Shark Bait close behind his companion. '_THEN STAY OUT OF MINE!'_ I was rewarded with watching Sin flinch, before stopping to glare at me. Surprisingly, Shark Bait glared at me too, even more fiercely then Sin. Over protective much….

"Come on guys, stop messing around," Oceana chided. We all nodded, deciding to put away our conflict….for now. "Sin, do you know who else is here?"

"Just Martian Manhunter."

"How do you know that?" Shark Bait asked, sounding surprised. "I didn't know your range was that far."

"It's not. He's right behind us, invisible." I twisted around, coming face to face with the tall alien.

"Your telepathy is impressive, young one."

"Oceana, get the others and get out. Me and Sin can take him."

"But, Dragon-"

"Go, now. You too, Manu," Sin told them. '_You better have a plan_.' He added to me, mentally.

_'Have a little trust, Sin.' _We both turned to Martian Manhunter.

"I cannot let you leave. You are criminals, wanted for murder."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I replied. My throat was scorching, and I could feel the flames jumping out of my mouth.

"No you're not," Sin said.

"Yeah, your right." _'Hold him still'_ Sin's head arched down ever so slightly; a nod. His eyes narrowed towards the Martian, his features took on a look of concentration. The green humanoid smirked…if you could call it that.

"Your telepathy is no match for mine, I suggest you stand down."

"It is when your dodging fireballs," I corrected. Suddenly huge flames came pooling out of my mouth, arching towards Martian Manhunter. With a cry he moved away. The flames barely touched him, but it was enough. He fell to his knees, clutching his head, until he fell to the ground; asleep

"It won't hold long. I told him to go to sleep, but he's stronger than me."

"Then let's get out of here," I agreed, smiling. We had just escaped the Justice League….

**THANK ****YJ LOVER**** FOR THIS IDEA IT'S WAY BETTER THEN WHAT MY ORIGINL PLAN WAS. So I might not be able to update as much because of finals. But I will try. **

**I added two more characters because, mainly, I needed someone who could read minds and I wanted another chance for a kiss because I didn't like my last one. And since the next couple won't be coming up for at least a few more chapters, Will and Manu came to be. Will is my character by the way, and Manu was made by Diencephalon (although I had to turn down his power a little for him to fit into the story, sorry) **


	5. Denial

**(Metropolis August 17 7:22)**

**(Sona's POV)**

It'd been two weeks since the Justice League tried to arrest us. And thankfully, it'd been a pretty uneventful two weeks. My birthday had passed, making me the age of 18. According to Oceana, that made me a legal adult in the U.S. So we'd moved into an apartment in the middle of the city; so that we could fit in better. Six of us had even gotten jobs to pay for it too. (Although where Sin had gotten the fake papers I didn't really want to know).

Sin and Shark Bait had joined the team, no surprise there. And they were pretty good to have around. Sin was a strange character. He was very secretive, still not telling us his name. It was like a wall was constantly up, separating us from him. He would only ever open up to Manu. Whenever the rest of us tried, we were rewarded with harsh threats that he'd usually follow through with. I'm pretty sure we all still had bruises. But on those rare moments when he'd let his guard down, it was like his head was up in the clouds. When that happened a story would normally follow. It was strange to think about, but I knew we all lived for those afternoons when we'd all crowd around him and listen to his tails of murder, adventure, and twisted characters. He was a mind reader, but apparently not a very powerful one. He could only read someone's mind if he was focusing on them deliberately. So not as good as a Martian. But his archery skills were easily as good as Green Arrows, which made up for the lack of power telepathically.

Shark Bait was fun, although sometimes bordered on obnoxious. He'd never let a dull moment go by, always making jokes and flirting with both the girls and guys alike. Although he never took it too far. Sadly, him plus Lumanate plus Ghost together always resulted in pranks. It'd become daily routine to check your shampoo bottle for dye, make sure that the sugar wasn't salt before you applied it to food, and look for a bucket full of worms before opening a door. His powers were pretty cool though. Not only could he manipulate water, like Oceana, but he could also breathe it too. And his feet and hands become webbed with he needed them to.

With Oceana's power being so much like Shark Bait's you would've thought that they'd have gotten along swimmingly, **(hehe, get it?) **but instead it was a constant war between the two. At first it was just the clash of personality and the flirting that really annoyed her. But now, it was more to do with the competition. They both had the same power, which meant that one always had to be better than the other. And although Manu had more power than Rose, she had more control. So now every training session was a war, and every sentence a hidden insult.

Lumanate and Ceridwen weren't helping with Rose and Manu dispute. At all. They were always encouraging them, making a game of it. I'd caught them both watching a sparring match with the two, eating popcorn, on numerous occasions. Although Ghost had been able to distract Lumanate with small dates and such. He had encouraged me to do the same with Ceridwen. But…no, he was wrong. She would refuse me….especially with the way she was always with Shark Bait lately.

"Hey guys." Speaking of the devil…Manu's voice broke my train of thought. A disarray of greetings sounded, without interest… I glanced over to him, and blinked. Sin was next to Shark Bait, and they were holding hands.

"Guys?" Sin asked, obviously wanting attention.

"Yeah, Yeah we know," Dragon said matter-of-factly, "You guys are really bad at hiding it."

"What do you m-"

"You don't think we noticed how you guys were always together? Sneaking into each other's rooms. How the only one you didn't hit on was Sin?"

"I didn't only not hit on Sin!" A chorus of 'yeah you dids' and 'all the times' went around.

"We're really happy for you both," Oceana added, smiling brightly. I was pretty sure this was the first time she'd ever smiled at Shark Bait, and maybe only the second or third time anyone in the entire team had smiled at Sin.

"Told you they knew," Sin muttered to hs boyfriend, smirking. Shark Bait shrugged his shoulders in a helpless way, before leaning forward to kiss Sin. The smaller boy's lips instantly latched onto Shark Bait's, while their fingers intertwined. I didn't really care about their sudden need to show public emotion. Instead, relief and happiness urged through me. Although I wasn't really sure why…

"Okay, that's it," Dragon said, not even looking up from her book, "There will be no more kissing in public areas. That means the living room, kitchen, dining room, and during training." She looked up, closing her book firmly, "And that means all of you," she added, looking at the two couples in turn. Me, Oceana, and Ceridwen all nodded in agreement. Ellie, Cole, Sin, and Manu all looked at us as if offended.

"Come on," Ghost said, rolling his eyes. "We got to get to work…and whatever Sin and Manu do."

"Yeah, why can't we know what you guys do again?"

"We get enough money, that's all that matters," Sin replied gruffly.

"Just as long as you're not robbing any banks or anything illegal," Oceana said, signaling for the rest of us to not ask questions. It didn't really matter to me what they did. True to Sin's word, they did bring enough money back with them every few days, so what'd it matter how they got it?

"Of course not, nothing like that," Shark Bait replied, maybe a bit too fast. Slyly, Sin elbowed him in the ribs, making it look like he just took a clumsy step forward. But Sin wasn't clumsy.

"And why do Oceana and Dragon not have to work?" I asked, frowning a little.

"Easy; no one trusts Ruxandera to work long enough without putting someone of fire. And someone has to stay with Ruxandera in case of an attack or something. "

"So I drew the short straw?" Oceana asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yup." Ellie put in helpfully, "What I want to know is why we trust Sin and Manu to work long enough without shooting someone?" No one had the answer to that.

**(Metropolis August 17 8:00)**

**(Ceridwen's POV)**

"You're late again," Mr. Tyk accused. The tall man frowned at Lumanate and me, his dark moustache twisting like a snake.

"Sorry, sir," we both said at the same time. He shook his head, whisking us to the kitchen with quick snaps of his wrists. The two of us obeyed, scurrying off.

Once we got into the kitchen, we quickly put on our bright white aprons and grabbed a pad and paper. "You're on section three, Ellie," I told her.

"I thought I was on section three tomorrow?"

"No, four tomorrow."

"Then why was I four yesterday?"

"You're four every other day."

"Then what about three?"

"Your three when you're not four."

"But I was two before I was four."

"That's because you were covering for Natalie."

"So I'm four every other day. I'm three when I'm not four. And I'm two when I'm covering for Natalie?"

"Exactly!"

"Ok….wait, Starr…what?" I let out an exasperated sigh, shaking my head.

"Look; just do section three today. Ok?"

"Alright." Ellie skipped off, smiling brightly at the day's first customers. I smiled a little, rolling my eyes.

"Hey." A voice behind me made me jump out of my skin, automatically reaching out to all the plants in the area. Sadly there was only a potted plant in the restaurant, and a small, weak tree a little way outside that I could reach only if I stood by the entrance. Good thing I didn't need to protect myself around here…so far anyway.

"Hey, Lyra." I greeted, smiling at the older girl. Well, actually according to the fake I.D.s Sin had gotten me and Ellie in order to work here, I was sixteen, a year older than her. Maybe that's why she was always so nice to me and Ellie. Not that I'd seen the sweet girl act any differently towards a youngster then someone her senior.

"So how's the family?"

"Good. Sin-," I coughed a little to cover up my mistake before continuing, "-Simon finally confessed to us that he and Manu are dating."

"That's great! From what you've told me they made it really obvious."

"Manu was clueless, as always, but Simon had an idea that we knew, again, as always."

"For your brother's boyfriend, he sure does seem very close to all of your family…"

"Uh, yeah, he's a good friend of the family as well." I mumbled, looking down. As far as she knew, Cole, Simon (aka Sin) and Rose and Ruxandera were all my siblings (adopted). Sahil and Ellie and Manu were just family friends. Thankfully she'd only ever seen Eliie, Cole, Sahil, and once Rose. So she didn't question it too much. Although when she once asked about my parents and it took me a good two minutes to think up a believable lie: Mom dead and dad a workaholic businessman.

"So what about making Sahil jealous? Did that work?" Lyra asked, her eyes twinkling.

"It was…until Manu and Simon confessed their relationship!" I said, frowning.

"Ah, I see. So are Ellie and Cole still going on strong?"

"Why don't' you ask her?" I asked, pointing at Lumanate, and then disappearing outside before I messed up again. Sometimes it was hard. Pretending, that is. But I needed to tell someone, talk to someone…

**(Metropolis August 17 8:00)**

**(Sin's POV)**

I shifted my feet on the cemented ground, frowning darkly. She was late. The woman that had contacted us. And she'd had the nerve to warn us about that exact thing. Shark Bait smiled next to me, his eyes lit up brightly in the shadows of the empty dock. We could've just met at a restaurant or some other place with food. I was starving. My stomach growled.

"I told you to eat while you still had the chance," my boyfriend said, smirking.

"I know."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Do you love me?" Shark Bait looked at me and blinked. Taking a few steps towards me, his rough palms cupped my face gently. I leaned into the touch slightly, which was very strange for me. If it was anyone else they wouldn't have been able to touch my shoulder without losing a finger.

"Where did this come from?" he asked gently.

"Nothing." Manu raised an eyebrow. "I just…" I shook my head. How could I explain this to him? I see all these other couples, everywhere. Normal people. Why couldn't we be like them? Not only were we different because we were both Metas, but we were also running away from assassins. And the Justice League. And the liberty core. And maybe what was worse was that this never mattered to me before. Being normal. Ever since my father had been killed in front of me at age nine, I'd accepted that I would never be normal. But now…I guess you could say that being with Shark Bait like this had given me a taste of normalcy.

Yeah…not something I could explain to my boyfriend.

"I love you," Shark Bait said slowly. I nodded, glancing down. He brought his thumb under my chin, and pushed my face up again to look at him. He leant down, lips puckered slightly. I was about to lean up to kiss him, but suddenly a noise from behind us made me stop.

"What's wrong?" Shark Bait asked as I placed my hands on his chest.

"She's here," I whispered. Shark Bat nodded, taking a step backward. I sighed a little…so much for normalcy.

**(Metropolis August 17 8:00)**

**(Sona's POV)**

Cole and I walked down the empty streets, kicking at the litter and small stones whenever it suited us. The silence between us was comfortable. It was nice to get away from the constant chatter of the team.

"Remind me to get new plates," Cole muttered as he kicked a small paper bag away from our path.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"I kind of broke a few yesterday. I was practicing telekinesis."

"Well, that explains why there weren't any dishes for dinner last night," I said, smiling a little. "Are you getting any stronger?"

"No."

"That's too bad. But I'm sure with more practice…." I trailed off, looking down again. Cole's power, or lack of it, was a touchy topic. We all knew that. I looked up at the sky. It was clouding over, pushing the sun's warmth away. I smiled at the thought of more rain. There was too little over here, in my opinion.

"So Sin and Manu…"

"Who knew?" I asked, shrugging. I didn't have a problem with it at all. Homosexuality wasn't very common in India. Most people didn't even realize what it was. So it wasn't like my views were ever really questioned or put up to debate. It was what it was.

"Apparently all the girls…I think they all have a sixth sense for this kind of thing."

"That would explain a lot."

"So…."

"So what?"

"You and Starr, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do."

"Look, even if I did like her…" He smirked at me. "Which I don't, she doesn't like me."

"Yeah, but you also thought that she liked Shark Bait-"

"What did they say about code names?"

"Ok, ok. You thought Starr and Manu liked each other before. And he turned out to be gay for Sin." I raised my eyebrows at him. How did Cole know about that? "You glared at Manu every time he walked in the room," Cole explained, smiling at me cheekily.

"I hate you sometimes," I muttered, shaking my head.

**(Metropolis August 17 9:13)**

**(Ceridwen's POV)**

_**Splat. **_I growled angrily, stopping in the middle of the restaurant. The tray that rested in my hands slid a little, letting the glasses rattle. _I swear if that kid…_

_** Splat. Splat. **__Again, seriously? _My fist curled in a tight ball. One more spitball, and I was going to-

_**Splat. Splat. Splat. Splat. **__THAT'S IT! _I turned around swiftly, a few plates skidding off my tray and landing on the floor. The ivory covered walls started curling, growing, reaching-

"Hey, what are you doing?" a hiss reached my ear. The ivory went limp. "What were you gonna do to that kid?"

"He was spitting spit balls at me, Ellie," I growled.

"Dude…"

"I know, sorry," I muttered. Sending one last glare at the kid, who in turn stuck his tongue at me, I whisked off into the kitchen.

**(Metropolis August 17 9:13)**

**(Sin's POV)**

"Why is it so dark?" Shark Bait asked. A loud banging sound filled the echoey room, followed by a loud yelp of pain.

"Shush," I hissed at my idiot boyfriend.

"Hey how do you think she knew that, you know, that this place was going to be hit tonight?"

"It's none of our business that she knows when someone's going to break into a museum. It's our job to stop it."

"Yeah, but only when they pay us, right?"

"We need the money," I said, shrugging, "Besides its better then…before."

"We should tell the team what we're doing."

"Why?"

"Well…it would be the right thing to do…"

"I have a one secret telling per day policy."

"Then we'll tell them tomorrow." Shark Bait said, smiling cheekily.

"Can't I tell them my name instead?" I asked, my voice edging close to begging.

"We can do both. What's the worst that can happen?" Shark Bait asked, looking at me curiously. I looked up at his light brown eyes. _They wouldn't understand. They'd think it was bad we were doing this for money. Taking people out, using our powers. All for money. They might not understand. _

"They'd want to help," I muttered. _I might lose my last chance of having a family. _Shark Bait looked at me with a raised eyebrow, but he smirked all the same. Even though he is the greatest boyfriend ever, some things were lost on him. He preferred not to look too deep.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Shark Bait suddenly asked, looking around us sharply. I cocked my head, listening intently. I nodded stiffly to my partner; there were footsteps in the next room.

"Let's go," I hissed, running into the darkness. I heard Shark Bait running after me and felt his mind slide into his calm and calculating side. His mind was so much easier to get into then everyone else's.

We crept silently through the museum, twisting through the display cases like snakes. As we neared the thief I pulled out my arrows, lining two up carefully. Suddenly movement caught my eye near the doorway. "He's getting away," Shark Bait yelled. He rushed ahead of me, pulling water from the handy fountain just next to us. I made a mental note to thank whoever designed this room.

Rushing after the masked thief, we found ourselves outside, in a dead end of an alleyway. What kind of thief was this? He was either really idiotic or…no that was all I got. I raised my arrow, pointing the sharp tip directly at our enemy's heart. The man cowered down, falling to his knees.

"Who do you work for?" Shark Bait sneered, raising a water sword above his head. He looked positively murderous. I felt myself blushing. _Seriously? Is this the best time to become a blushing school boy!_

"There's no way I'm telling you, Fish Head!" Oh great, a smart mouth.

"Fish Head? Seriously?" My boyfriend asked, smirking. "That's the best you got?" He almost sounded disappointed. I put a hand on his shoulder, signaling for him to not annoy the enemy to death. At least not until we got answers.

"Ok, let's try something easier, Dipwad. What's your name?" I asked him, crouching down to look at him straight in the eye. Cocking my head slightly, I dove into his mind.

'_Aaron Parker.'_

"Aaron Parker, huh? Never heard of you before. You new at this, Aaron?"

"Wh-what? I didn't…"

"So what were you planning on stealing this time?" Shark Bait asked, cutting him off.

'_Nothing. I just had to lead you here for an ambush.'_

"Shark Bait, it's an ambush. We have to move, now," I said, darting away. But it was too late. Even as I grabbed my bow, small gas bombs flew down around us, and my world went black.

**(Metropolis August 17 9:13)**

**(Ghost's POV)**

I frowned at the nails I was busy hammering into a wall. They just wouldn't stick. How did people do this without telekinesis? It was impossible. And I knew. I'd been trying for the past hour. I felt bad for Sahil. He was having even more trouble, and he had no telekinesis to save his butt. This was the fourth time our boss was yelling at him for getting the nails stuck in the wrong place. I almost smirked at his face. I guess the prince had never really been treated like this before.

Suddenly Sahil was jumping up, his hands curled into fists. Damn_! _I jumped up, putting a hand on my friend's shoulder. Luckily our boss was already walking away, and hadn't noticed either of us.

"Give me one reason why I can't chop her up in little pieces!"

"The fact that you're asking proves that you know the answer already."

"I'm serious, Ghost," Sahil muttered to me.

"So am I. Look, you want a reason? Fine, I'll give you two. One, we can't go around murdering people we don't like. Two, she's our paycheck."

"Fine, but if she-" A creaking dragged me away from Sahil's complaints. I turned around to find the wall we were working on shaking back and forth. Suddenly it leant forward, about to land right on top of me. Instinctively my telekinesis kicked in, resulting in the wall leaning against an invisible force, frozen in mid-air.

"Sahil," I hissed, grabbing the prince's attention finally. He whirled around, eyes growing wide. "Quick, help me before someone sees," I told him. He nodded and quickly pushed the wall back up, just as our boss walked over again.

"Quazi, DeNiro," she called, and started to vent about loitering around. It was going to be a very long day…

**(Metropolis August 17 11:44)**

**(Lumanate's POV)**

"So I have a side salad, some fries a-"

"That isn't our order," an angry looking man snapped at me. I frowned at him darkly, but he continued anyway. "This is the third time you've messed up our order. I only have thirty minutes for lunch left bef-"

"Sir, I have your order written down. This is what you asked for."

"No, it is not. You incompetent child." That was it. I was incompetent? Me? I was so competent! He was the one who was incompetent; changing his order at least three times and then freaking out on me when I obeyed his every fucking whim. My hand itched for my whip. "I bet you're working here because your family sent you. I bet they're as lazy and incapable as you. You're a no good-" My hand shot out for the nearest thing that wouldn't kill him; a glass of soda. Without a second thought I emptied it on his head, soaking him with the sticky liquid.

**(Metropolis August 17 11:44)**

**(Sin's POV)**

"Ugh," I moaned as my head throbbed painfully. Cringing painfully, I blinked open my eyes. I was in a dark room. Actually it was more of a warehouse. And, of course, I was tied up. Great.

"I see you are awake," a voice said from the darkness. I twisted my head painfully, and came face to face with a tall, thick man. He looked to be in his med twenties, and as solid as a tree trunk. His balding head left a dry scalp and milky blue eyes saw through me like a laser.

"Hello, Squire," I muttered to the familiar man. He had worked for the assassins, during my early years of being with them. He'd taken off when his mousey, pathetic protégé had been killed during a fire fight. Ever since he'd come up in many battles as an enemy throughout the years. Although I'd never met him personally, I knew his story well enough.

"Sin," he replied gruffly, his hands fiddling with a camera directed at me face.

"What do you want with us?"

"Answers."

"On what?"

"On why the assassins are following us again? Every time we've broken into some place or made a deal with someone, you and your partner always show up. And then we find out your doing it all for strangers, in a trade for money. What's your game?" So this was a setup, huh? Should've known things were shady! It was so obvious.

"We don't work for the assassins anymore."

"Well, excuse me if I don't believe you." Suddenly he was right in front me, his putrid breath making me gag. My chair was pushed back, so I was forced to stare at his soulless eyes. "What's your game?"

"I just told y-" _**Slap!**_ Suddenly it was like my face was on fire. I bit my lip in order not to cry out, feeling blood trickling from a small cut on my forehead.

"What do they want?" I said nothing; it was obvious he wouldn't listen. I was hit again, this time on my side. I felt the crack of bones folding like paper beneath his force. I bit my lip harder; tasting blood. Again and again he hit me. On my ribs, my face, my chest. It hurt like hell, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of screaming.

Finally his hits ceased, and he leant down so that my face was only an inch above his. "Do you want it to stop?" I nodded slightly, not being able to help it. "Then all you have to do is tell me the truth."

"Okay, here is the truth: you touch me one more time, you pull back a bloody stump," I warned darkly.

"You think I'm afraid of children?" he replied, sneering.

"Yes. Why else would you be doing this?" I asked flatly.

"I'm not afraid of you. I am afraid of what your boss."

"No, if that was trued you would've believed me when I told you the truth. You were well known for that; knowing when you were being lied to. Some said it was your superpower. No, it's all about your pride. Power and pride. But with us it turns into uncertainty. So you must remove us from the equation. Before we upset the balance you've kept perfect for all these years. That's what it's all about."

Squire stood in front of me, dumbstruck at my little speech. Finally he seemed to regain his senses. He raised his fist slowly and sweetly smiled. I closed my eyes, flinching away from the blow I knew was coming. Suddenly I could hear the smashing of glass. I opened my eyes, to be met with a huge tidal wave at me feet.

"DO NOT TOUCH MY BOYFRIEND," I heard Shark Bait scream. Despite myself, I smiled as Shark Bait came face to face with Squire. In only a few seconds Squire was on the floor; no match for an enraged Shark Bait.

Blinking away the blood that was slowly collecting around my eyelids. I felt his hand cup my face gently, and I smiled weakly at him. "He-"

"I know," he interrupted me. "They got me hooked up with the camera. Seeing who cracked first."

"Wow, pretty high tech for ex-assassins, huh?" I tried to smirk, but ended up in a fit of coughing. My lips suddenly felt wet and I could taste blood. Shark Bait was cussing loudly, his warm hands cupping mine frantically.

"We have to get you to a hospital. Oh my god, stay with me, come on we have to-"

"Since when does my getting hurt freak you out so much?" I rasped.

"You're never been hurt like this!"

"What about that time I was shot?"

"I freaked out then too. You just weren't conscious enough to notice." I nodded, smiling a little at the thought that he cared so much. I blinked sleepily, my limbs growing heavy. The pain that had been clawing at my nerves ever since the beatings had started was now pushing me onto the edge of darkness. I felt his lips on my forehead, his voice now a gentle murmur, lulling me away from the pain.

**(Metropolis August 17 4:24)**

**(Dragon's POV)**

I hated hospitals. Always had. I hated the bright colors, like they were laughing at your pain. And the smell. They tried so hard to cover up the smell of blood and death. But the waiting was worse. Much much worse. It was agony to watch Manu stare at the floor with a dead look in his eye, as Rose threw ignored questions at him like gun shots. It was torture to watch Ellie and Cole, the normally happiest out of all of us, huddled together in sorrow. Me and Starr sat together, closer than we had been in a long time, ever since joining this group in fact. Sahil watched us helplessly, moving as if to comfort us, only to sit back down again right after.

"This has been one hell of a day, huh?" I asked Starr, as I rolled my eyes at Sahil for the 8th time.

"Tell me about it. I can't believe Sin's in the hospital…"

"I can't believe that they were getting bad guys for money, and they didn't invite me!"

"That's what you're worried about?"

"What? They said he would be okay after surgery. And besides, I'm not the one that got fired."

"No. Me, Ellie, Sahil, and Cole did…"

"Wait. Sahil and Cole got fired too?"

"Yup. They tried to leave early. You know, because Will was in the hospital and then their boss told them to stay and then…boom."

"Cole got mad?"

"Nope, Sahil."

"Nice," I laughed. She smiled next to me, shaking her head.

"So, how are we gonna get paid? Rose is putting her foot down with the whole getting bad guys for money thing. And after this, I think Sin and Manu agree with her."

"Well…we're screwed…"

"Yup."

**(So sorry for the long wait. I had finals, and personal things to take care of. But I made it really long to make up for the wait.)**


	6. Downtime

**(Metropolis August 27 4:00)**

**(Shark Bait POV)**

It was pitch black in the house the Lone Riders had newly acquired. And by acquired, I of course mean snuck in with Will's awesome lock picking skills (seriously, where does that kid pick up all these skills?) and were staying there until a better offer came up. Lone Riders…that name still sounded strange to use in relevance to our family. Family…that word also felt strange to use in relevance to anything. We had decided to move to Gotham, on account of the cheaper prices of…everything. Luckily we'd found an abandoned house to move into.

There was an eerie silence in the old house, except for the occasional creak of a loose floorboard or broken window. The paint was peeling, there were leaks, and Sona and Ceridwen had reported bats in the attic. But, it was the closest to home they could get after we had all got fired.

I lay in my bed quietly, my hand absentmindedly stroking Will's hair. His body was covered with fading bruises, and he still had deep buts held together by stitches; but overall he was healing remarkably well. I smiled at his peaceful expression; an expression he only ever wore when sleeping. I wished he would smile more sometimes. He hardly ever smiled. But when he did, it was like the sun was shining just for me, and everyone else was left in the dark. Actually, I take that back. I want him to smile more only when I'm alone with him. No one else was allowed to see my sunshine.

Suddenly a scream erupted from nowhere. I jumped out of bed in a flash, looking around wildly. Will had jumped up too, and was now sitting in a pile of thick blankets with his hair poking out at odd angles. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, looking at me in confusion. Huh…maybe I had imagined it.

Another scream sounded. Nope, I was definitely not imagining it. I started running down the hallway, with Will right behind me. He had grabbed his bow and quiver, already notching an arrow. We ran into Sona and Lumanate, whose eyes were also wide with panic and hands filled with weapons.

"You guys heard that, right?" Ellie asked.

"You mean the scream? No, I just jumped out of my bed at 4 in the morning with my quiver for the enjoyment," Will muttered sarcastically.

"Wow Sin, I don't believe I've ever heard you joke before," Sona said, smirking. Before Will could answer another high pitched scream echoed through the house.

"Rux and Rose's room, come on," I said, running down the stairs to the room Dragon and Oceana shared. The rest of our companions were already there; Ghost and Ceridwen standing at the doorway. _'Why aren't they doing anything?'_ I wondered, '_Oh, god, I hope we aren't too late. Please don't let anyone be dead, please don't let anyone be dead...'_

**(Metropolis August 27 4:00)**

**(Oceana POV)**

I lay in my bed, my face scrunched up in confusion. Why had I woken up? According to my alarm clock it was four in the morning.

"_**Ahhh!"**_

Oh, that was why. I leaped from my bed, turning to the source of the screaming in one fluid motion, hands raised with water ready to drown whoever had disrupted me from my sleep. Didn't we have enough problems? Weren't we allowed a little peace to at least sleep until a decent hour!

My guard lowered as I realized me and Rux (who was in another bed on the other side of our large room) were the only ones there. I looked to my friend's sleeping form. How had she not awakened? Rux was tossing and turning in her bed, eyes tightly shut and a look of pain on her face. I frowned. Maybe she was having a nightmare. It seemed we really couldn't catch a break.

I stood there, debating for a few moments if I should wake her up or not. On one side, she'd probably bite my head off if I attempted it. On the other, she looked like she was going to bite her own head off sooner or later. Just as I was about to reach my decision, she bolted straight up, screaming bloody murder.

I jumped a foot in the air, water shooting up again on instinct. As soon as I realized there wasn't a threat (a physical one anyway) it dropped on the floor and I rushed over to Rux. Without thinking I jumped on her bad and wrapped my arms around her. She was too out of it with fear and shock to realize, and instead lay her head on my shoulder to sob hysterically. Not really knowing what else to do, I started to sing softly. Music always helped me after all.

"I remember tears streaming down your face

When I said, I'll never let you go

When all those shadows almost killed your light

I remember you said, don't leave me here alone

But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

Don't you dare look out your window

Everything's on fire

The war outside our door keeps raging on

Hold onto this lullaby

Even when the music's gone

Gone

Just close your eyes

The sun is going down

You'll be alright

No one can hurt you now

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound

Just close your eyes

You'll be alright

Come morning light

You and I'll be safe and sound"

When the song finished, her crying had subsided, and she was taking deep calming breaths. I looked up, to find the rest of our team in the room, watching us carefully. I hadn't realized how loud Rux's screams had been. She must've woken them all up.

To my surprise, they had all seemed to have been listening. Even Sin was stood in the doorway, watching with a slight smile. His boyfriend stood next to him, their fingers intertwining. Sona watched us with concern in his eyes, leaning on the wall, his sword forgotten next to him. Ellie was in Cole's arms, their sleepy eyes lulled almost closed with the notes. Starr was at Sona's feet, sitting cross legged and smiling at Rux softly.

Sin was the first to break the spell. "What happened?" he asked in his curt manner. Dragon shifted uncomfortably in my arms, and I released her.

"I…uh-." This was the first time I'd seen Dragon lost for words. It was even more unsettling then the screaming.

"Nightmare," I answered for her. She glared daggers at me. Whoops.

"Are you okay?" Sona asked gently.

"Do I look ok?" Rux snapped.

"No," Sona admitted, flinching. "You wana talk about it?"

"No. I'm sorry I woke you guys. We should all go back to bed." No one moved. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Yep," Ellie said, smiling cockily, "But we aren't going 'till you talk about it." She yawned little and slumped against her boyfriend with a smile.

"Seriously?" Manu nodded enthusiastically, as everyone else settled down comfortably. Dragon sighed, but complied.

"When I was just a child, couldn't have been more than six months old, I was kidnapped and experimented on. Thankfully, when I was 4, I was saved …but with side effects." As an explanation she spit out a small ball of fire and watched it burn out in mid-air. "The police found my parents. They'd divorced only a few months after I was kidnapped. I lived in an apartment with my mom in Gotham for the school year and my dad in the summer in Star. I grew up like that with my younger sister until I was 11 when I was taken by The Liberty Core. They killed my sister in the kidnapping. The nightmares…they're about that. The experimentation and her death and the torture by the Liberty Core…it all comes back to me through dreams. And I- I just…" A few tears slipped down her face as she suppressed a sob.

"Wow…I'm sorry Rux," Starr mumbled, looking sadly at her friend. Dragon shook her head.

"It's not your fault, Starr. Don't be sorry."

"The same thing happened to me," Cole admitted quietly. We all looked at him I surprise. "Well not exactly the same thing… but I _was _experimented on..." He trailed off, looking uncomfortable.

"Oh, no. You're not forcing me to tell my whole fucking life story and then clamming up when it's your turn!"

"Okay, okay, I grew up with my family; the usual dad, mom, two brothers. Whole normal set thing. But my dad…he was a genetic scientist. My older brother, Jeran, ran away when I was only 10 because Dad'd experimented on us when he didn't have enough other test subjects."

"Where'd he get the other test subjects from?" Sin asked from his corner. I almost slapped him for his lack of sympathy…although he'd probably kick my ass easily.

"I-I don't know. Never asked. Never had the nerve. Anyway, he made an experiment that he thought would give humans telekinetic powers, and wanted to try it out. He wanted to do it on my founder brother, Mark, but I volunteered instead. And, well, you can safely assume it worked. But I nearly died when the building we were in collapsed from the experiment. I don't know what happened to the rest of my family. All I can hope was that they survived, you know? Anyway I was rescued by an assassin who brought me back to full health, so that I could fight for her. I eventually ran away, but was dragged back and the assassin… well…" He brought up his shirt up around his arms and traced savage scars that crisscrossed around his arms. He also pointed to a long scar the crossed his face, biting into his cheek and nose, to stop at his chin. "I eventually escaped again and a few weeks after, I was kidnapped by the Liberty Core." He suddenly smiled. "Real unlucky, right?"

"Your own Dad did _experiments_ on you?" Ellie asked, breaking the silence. Cole nodded. His girlfriend wrapped him up in her arms, squeezing him tightly. "Oh, Cole." He hugged her back, smiling sadly as he touched her lips to his head.

"So, that's the reason why you're wanted for murder?" Rus asked.

"Uh,…yeah…"

"Hey, were these assassins in Star City?" Manu asked suddenly. Cole looked at him, nodding suspiciously. Sin and Manu shared a look, their hands tightening on each other. "Me and Sin worked for them too."

"How'd they get you guys?" I asked, interested. Shark Bait smiled.

"Settle down boys and girls, story time is about to begin," he mumbled, as he fell to the floor in a sitting position, pulling Sin with him and onto his lap. "Well I never knew either of my parents well. My dad was a no show ever since my mom found out she was pregnant, and then my mom died at childbirth. I was raised by nuns, at a church. I was actually pretty happy until I turned eight. That's when my powers developed. The nuns…my family…they had me exorcised." As he talked, Manu flinched from the memory. Sin squeezed his hand reassuringly, smiling a little at his boyfriend for support. I almost smiled from the sight…if I hadn't been so shocked that Sin had actually _smiled. _"Well, at least I got some cool scars from it, hey?" He pulled off his shirt to reveal a series of cross shaped burns on his arms and lower next and chest. "Anyway," he continued as he pulled back down his shirt, "the government stepped in three years later…or at least that's who they claimed to be. But I don't think so anymore. They were the Assassins. A year after I came in, they assigned Sin here as my partner. We ran away together only a few months ago. But we were still wanted for our crimes. Batman caught us in Gotham, brought us to the Hall of Justice, and then we met you guys." He put his hands up, grinning. "All happy endings!" The rest of us laughed with him, clapping gently.

"What about you, Sin?" Rux asked, turning to the last ex-assassin. "How'd you get picked up by the assassins?" Sin glared at her, jaw set.

"If I won't tell you my name, what makes you think I'll tell you my story?"

"Come on, Sin, you gotta trust someone sooner or later," Manu whispered in his ear.

"I got you. Who else do I need?"

"Them," Manu answered without missing a beat. He gestured to the rest of us.

"…Ok, fine," he muttered. "Fine. My name is William Scott. Will for short though. You call me my full name you're dead."

"Will? Hmm, suites you," Sona commented with a grin. Starr nodded in agreement.

"I lived in a small apartment in the worst part of Gotham. There were police sirens on the street all night, and break-ins every morning, and you'd have been lucky not to have been robbed at least once every two months. But, it was him. Then, when I was nine, my dad was killed by a couple of robbers on the street. I watched as he died…and I didn't do anything…" Manu's hold on him tightened slightly. He coughed a little, shaking his head. "After that I was taken in by a group of thieves. They taught me how to pick locks, steal, and use stealth. I was pretty good at it, actually. But I guess that was a bad thing, because I caught the assassin's eye. When I was ten I was taken by the group of assassins. I trained for six years, 'till, you know, me and Shark Bait escaped. And then we got arrested and met you guys."

"Got arrested….why is that so normal for us?" Ellie asked, trying to lighten up the mood. Everyone ignored her.

"I'm sorry 'bout your Dad, Si- Will," I told him, giving him a sympathetic look.

"It's ok. I mean, it happened years ago…I guess," he muttered, looking down. This left a comfortable silence that settled like calming snow. It was strange. We all knew it wasn't ok. It wasn't okay that Dragon was experimented on. It wasn't okay that Ghost was forced to kill after his Dad turned on him. It wasn't okay that Shark Bait was exorcised and turned into a killing machine. It wasn't okay that Sin's father was killed right in front of him and that he'd been trained as an assassin. But that was life. They'd accepted it, and we all had to two. Besides, it wasn't over yet.

So who's next?" Sona asked, looking around.

"I will?" Ellie offered, looking up from Cole's embrace. "I used to live in this house near a huge wooded area. I found the energy whip one night there. It imprinted on me when I picked it up. It was quite a light show. I was occasionally attacked by intergalactic bounty hunters who wanted the whip, now those were good times. Anyway, the Liberty Core found me using it and they took me in. You guys know the rest."

"What about your family?" Sona asked from the wall.

"My Mom and Dad were ok, I mean as far as parents go. My five year old little bro, Simon was really funny and cute though. And Zach, my fourteen year old cousin, was my best friend. He was living with us for a few months before…you know. My kidnapping."

"You miss them?" Cole asked gently. She nodded sadly, but smiled.

"Of course. But I'll go back to them someday. You know, after sorting all this mess out. So- uh, who's next?"

"I will," I offered, raising my hand. Starr nodded to me encouraging, smiling. "I-uh, I came from a regular family. You know; the usual annoying little brother and controlling parents. They all died in a fire when I was 8. I went to live with my aunt and uncle and soon after I got my powers. The police, soon after I was taken in, found a burnt up torch at my house. The fire was no accident. When I found out… I was angry. And I didn't want anyone to go through what I did. So… I become Oceana."

"And got captured," Rux added. "Nice going."

"Hey!"

"What? I'm just calling it as I see it." We all had to laugh at that.

"I'm sorry about what happened with your family," Starr added quietly.

"Yeah, so am I," I murmured, looking down. I really didn't feel like getting into it with them at five in the morning. Which begged the question; why were we getting into this at five in the morning? Oh well, too late to stop now. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"You."

"Oh, um, okay, I'm going now them I guess," she stuttered, straightening up. "Before being captured I lived with my mom and helped her run a flower shop. My Dad and her divorced when I was three, and I never saw him since. But we were fine on our own. We had a nice apartment, decent enough income, the works. Ever since I was a child I loved to play with the plants. But one day my favorite plant, an aster, was dying. I tried to keep it alive of course, even though it'd lived two years and was _way_ past expiration date. I got mad when it died though, and I flung it at a wall. It grew twelve times my height. Amazed; I tried again. And it worked. After I told her mom. She took me to this professional doctor and did some tests and stuff. He realized that I had powers of all plants. It was awesome when I found out. My mom was proud, of course. I mean, this could've changed our lives. But then, without telling anyone the doctor called the government. They came and tried to take me away. My mom got in the way and she got shot. I was taken to the Liberty Core." Small tears were running down her cheeks, but she whipped them away before anyone but me and Manu noticed (we controlled w_ater _after all).

"I'm sorry," Sona mumbled, leaning down to put a hand on her shoulder. Starr smiled at him gratefully.

"It's ok. It happened a while ago."

"So, I guess I'm next…" Sona mumbled, shuffling his feet. "Well, you guys know I was a prince in an Indian village. There were these people from America who wanted out Platonium. It's a rare mineral only found in my village and a few surrounding mountains. They were willing to pay us money. A lot of money. My father declined though. I didn't understand, at the time, why. I mean, with the money they would've given us we could've made schools and hospitals and everything else we lacked. So I accepted the offer instead. I gave them the Platonium they needed. But instead of paying me, they attacked my village with it. We fended them off, but not without suffering a huge loss. I was exiled a few days after."

"So, why did you come to America?"

"I had nowhere else to go. Saw the cargo ship; it belonged to one of the men who turned on my village, and stowed away in it. I never looked back," he replied, shrugging. True, his story wasn't the saddest of them all, but it seemed clear to everyone but Sona himself that he missed his home.

"Wow…maybe we should do these four in the morning get togethers more often," Cole muttered, as he looked at the clock next to my bed. It read six in the morning. Rux groaned.

"No way in hell am I waking up this early again."

"I'll make breakfast," Ellie announced, pulling me an unwilling Cole with her. I smirked as the rest of our group dispatched. I was the one of the last to leave, lingering just enough to overhear Sona and Starr, who were still in the room.

"Hey, for what it's worth," I watched as Starr leaned in to kiss Sona gently on his cheek, "I think your village lost an awesome warrior." I fled the area, laughing a little at the sight of Sona's bemused face.

**The song is Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift. Thank Blue Torpedo for it (creator of Oceana)**

**Sorry I haven't updated recently, but I was on vacation without internet. **

**And Sorry if they were out of character. I don't know what happened. **

**Review!**


	7. Bereft

**(Metropolis September 4 7:00)**

**(Ceridwen's POV)**

"Happy Birthday to you," Oceana began to sing. Behind her, Sahil carried a cake (The third birthday cake we'd tried to make. Sin and Shark Bait had burnt the first one. Then Oceana and Shark Bait had gotten into a fight while trying to make the second one and the batter had gone all over the walls. Finally I'd just kicked them all out of the kitchen and made my own Birthday cake with Sahil awkwardly hovering around me unsuccessfully trying to help) into the large dining room. The others quickly joined in the singing, bright smiles flickering in the candle light.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Starr," they sang in a dull tune, voices drawled out and off key, "Happy Birthday to you!" I laughed, clapping my hands happily at their performance. An excited chatter broke out as Sahil began cutting the cake.

"Hey wait, guys do you hear that?" Will suddenly asked with his brow creasing as he frowned.

"What?" Rose asked. I strained my ears, trying to catch the ominous sound that had Will so confused.

_Be-ep Beep Be-ep Beep Be-ep_

There it was; a faint, almost undetectable sound that had managed to somehow worm its way into the air. The others had heard it too and were all staring at each other, confused. "What is that?" Manu asked, looking around as if expecting to see the source of the noise flying in front of him.

"It's the communicator that Robin gave us," Cole answered. His eyes narrowed at the thought, knuckles whitening slightly as his grip on the table tightened. "I thought we got rid of that thing!"

"Ummm about that," Ellie, to my upmost surprise, looked down at the floor with guilt, "Me and Will were going to try to make others like it to use. We needed it as a kind of blueprint…"

"Guys!" Rose practically shrieked, glaring at both Will and Ellie with such ferocity I felt myself cower. "There's probably a tracking device on it or something. What were you thinking?"

"Don't you have a little faith, Rose?" Will asked, not at all affected by her words. "I looked it over for any kind of trick or tracer that Boy Blunder could've planted."

"Well then why is it beeping?"

"It's an S.O.S signal," Manu interrupted. He'd disappeared from the group when Cole had spoken, and only now was reappearing with the beeping communicator at hand.

"They have a lot of nerve asking is for help like this."

"Wow Cole, I don't think I've ever seen you made before," I teased him. The knife throwing, telekinetic boy glared at me.

"So what are we going to do?" I asked, looking away from Cole awkwardly.

"Ignore it, of course," Rose said as if it was unthinkable to do anything else. "Their team set us up. We'd be in jail if it wasn't for Will and Manu."

"Yeah I'm still a little confused about how that happened…" Ellie cut in.

"We all are." Manu and Will shrugged their shoulders, both becoming uncharacteristically quiet. I sometimes worried about those two.

"Rose, I think that maybe we should go," Sahil said softly. "If they're in trouble we can't just stand around here and do nothing. I was exhaled from my home for a mistake that would've cost hundreds of lives. If I got a second chance then so should they."

"But what they did wasn't a mistake, Sahil," Will interrupted, "They tried to throw you guys in jail. Purposely."

"But they didn't know we were innocent," I offered.

"And they still don't know that. So why are they asking for help?" he argued.

"Exactly. They must be in deep trouble to ask for help!" Ellie gasped, springing at the opportunity.

"Forget it," Rose dismissed, "We're not going to help them and that's final."

"Since when does one person decide what we all do?" Rux snapped. She hadn't said a word through the whole argument, but now it seemed to be her breaking point. I agreed with her completely, although kept silent. It was true that Rose seemed to be our unspoken leader, but that didn't mean she could dictate everything we did. Especially not this. "I say we vote. I mean, I don't like those sidekick brats any more than the rest of you do, but we might as well go help them. They might be dying as we speak. Besides, we've been stuck in here for days. Who wants to actually go do something?"

"She had a point," Manu said, raising his hand as if in school. "I vote we go help them." Dragon nodded stiffly.

"Are you guys joking? We can't help them. Do you remember what they did to us?"

"So you're voting no?" Rose asked him.

"Of course!"

"Well I vote yes," I said, crossing my arms. "They don't deserve to die after swallowing their pride to ask us for help."

"But what if they're not dying?" Will asked suddenly. "You guys are all acting as if we know for sure that they're dying, but what if this is just another trap?" A few seconds went by as we digested that new piece of information. What he spoke was true, we didn't know for sure if they were really in trouble or not. What if they didn't really need us and this was just another trap?

"We can't risk all these what-ifs. Even if there's a small chance of anyone needing us, then we go. I know for sure that none of us can live with this hanging over our heads if we don't," Ellie said, breaking the silence.

"Speak for yourself," Will muttered. His boyfriend's hand clasped his shoulder and their eyes met. Manu leant down and whispered something to the telepath. Will's eyes softened and he nodded his head. "Alright, alright, let's go."

"Where's the signal coming from, Rux?" Manu asked, grinning. He turned to the girl who now held the beeping sphere.

"Bialya."

**(Bialya September 5 2:20)**

"I don't know what surprises me more, the fact that Sin has a jet, or that Sin's afraid of flying!" I said, leaning back on my seat with ease. The eight of us were lounging in the small plane, staring into the clouds with smiles. Or at least I was. Shark Bait was driving the thing, a look of pure concentration on his face.

Next to him was Sin, who looked ready to either puke or faint. His hands gripped the arms of his chair so hard they had bent downward and were ripping.

Next to me Oceana was playing with a cup of water, refusing to talk since we'd gotten onto the jet. I could tell she was upset about being here, but that was all the more frustrating to me.

Dragon was behind her, staring out at the clouds. She'd been forced onto the aircraft, with her claiming that she could fly the whole way instead. She'd only accepted being on here when Ellie pointed out that she'd be exhausted when they got there and would only slow them down.

The girl was playing with her whip next to Dragon, not looking at her boyfriend.

Ghost was infuriated that we'd forced him to come along. But he wouldn't hear of us going without him either. He was a strange character.

Sona was next to Ghost, having been trying to calm him down most of the flight. It was working, slowly and gradually, and the warrior seemed to be the only one with the patience of doing it.

"The jet isn't his," Shark Bait called from the pilot's seat. He seemed surprisingly good at driving the aircraft, something which no one questioned. "It's used a lot by people like us…you know who worked for the..."

"And they still let you use them? I thought you ran away!"

"We did. But they don't change the passwords too often." Suddenly the whole plane shook violently. I felt my seat fall from underneath me, and was immensely glade of the seatbelt I was wearing as I followed, leaving my stomach in my mouth.

"Manu!" Sin gasped, tensing. His seat squeaked in weak protest as the left arm finally snapped off. Poor chair.

"Sorry, turbulence," Shark Bait said as the plane shook even more. I could've sworn Sin whined as the plane banked left.

"So we've finally found your weakness, eh Sin?" I asked. He glared at me viciously.

**(Bialya September 5 2:25)**

I stood in a sea of sand, kicking at the piles of gold with boredom. Behind us was the small jet, now not looking quite as small compared as Sin leant on the wheel. He'd taken me aside after landing, threatening to cut off all of my hair at night if I ever told anyone else about his fear of flying. To that I'd agreed to quickly, knowing me meant every word. I'd prefer not to go bald.

"So where do you think the others are?" I asked Sin, looking back at him. He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh come on, you're a telepath," I argued. "Can't you do that whole mind link thingy?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I heard that Martian Manhunter can connect minds together as a sort of way to communicate." He held up his dark bow for me to see, and pulled out an arrow.

"These are my weapons. My telepathy is way too weak to be used like that." There wasn't many times when Sin would admit he was weak, but when his telepathy was in question he would almost use it as an excuse. It was as if he didn't like the power.

"Come on, you can at least try. We're doing nothing waiting here for them. It's not like the other team are going to be near enough to see the plane, if they're even alive still."

"Fine," Will muttered. He sat down on the hot sand and closed his eyes. A few seconds of silence went by, before I felt a sharp pull at my mind. _'Can you hear me?' _Sin's voice asked. His voice was faint in my mind, as if coming from the other end of a football field instead of him being only a few feet away from me.

'_Sin, you did it!'_

'_I did?'_

'_You can hear me can't you?'_

'_Woah, I can't believe it.'_

'_Try to find the others.'_

'_Ok.' _It felt as if he had opened a door in my mind, and a cold breeze was blowing through it. I subconsciously shivered as he started to search the desert telepathically. All of a sudden a sharp blow pierced my head. Sin's face was full of alarm right before he cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

'_Sin?'_ I asked. Another voice answered, their voice way too loud in my head.

'_I see you. Psimon says forget.'_ Another wave pain went through my mind, the one as if I'd been hit over the head with a brick. Then my world went blank.

**I know you guys would want to know, so this is what Manu whispered to Will: **"I know you Will. You'll care and regret not helping. These people have families. Not everyone's story has to be like ours. Not because of us anyway. We need to go help them no matter what."

**Sorry for not updating sooner guys. Really sorry about that. I went on vacation for a month and had no time to write. The only time I really used my computer was at this Wi-Fi café so I couldn't concentrate enough to write anyway. Then when I got back I had school and let me tell you IT SUCKS! And to top it all off a lot of my documents, including the one that held all of the character profiles and this chapter seemed to have mysteriously vanished. So yeah sorry about the wait. **

**It's all thanks to Blue Torpedo, who sent me all of you guys characters and kept on reminding me to work on this that it finally got published. So feel free to flood her inbox with thanks.**

**Now onto serious business. Who wants their character to die? Now it's not going to be like they just vanished from both story and memory. They'll be constantly thought of and spoken of throughout the story. So if you think a character should die (it can be yours) then tell me who and why in a review. CERIDWEN, DRAGON, AND SONA CANNOT DIE. I need them for a future plan. **

**So review please!**


	8. Targets

**(Gotham City September 7 8:30)**

**(Artemis's POV)**

Gotham. Hell on earth. The only city even Batman couldn't tame. The crime rates were through the roof. Pollution and gas- laughing gas, fear gas, etc. - stained its air and dirt was forever ingrained into every building and soul. It really was a disgusting place.

_But its home_ Artemis thought despairingly as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. She was returning from an afternoon at the cave. M'gann and Superboy had been ecstatic about the day Megan Morse and Conner Kent had at school. Megan had gotten into cheerleading- which was perfect for her- and even Conner had made some friends…kind of. It was a good start for him anyway.

Suddenly a flash of broke Artemis's train of thought. She skidded to a stop, hands twitching to her bow instinctively, as she balanced carefully on the balls of her feet. "Hello?" she called out, feeling very silly. _I swear if that's Robin, I'm going to kick his little-_

"You must come with us," a voice answered back. Out of the shadows a boy appeared. He was very thin and wiry, and moved seemingly with the wind as he easily balanced on the rooftop. His white hair stuck out of his hair like grass, and his bright blue eyes were latched onto the blonde girl like a tiger eyeing its prey. _That's not Robin!_

"Us?" Artemis asked, fighting to keep her cool. She hated herself for feeling even a little afraid of the younger boy, but there was something about his face that made her doubtless that this was new to him. He was a hunter.

As was the second boy who appeared. His expression mirrored the others; brown eyes vacant but determined, face blank but dark. His build was muscular but still thin, and his hair was cropped short. His gaze sent shivers down Artemis's spine.

"Us." The second boy wasn't the only one to speak. Artemis whirled around to find that the two boys were not alone. To her left was a thin girl; her small body like a willow. On her head was a crown of dark brown hair; braided and left to trail along her back. She seemed to be harmless, except for the deadly looking whip she held loosely in her hands.

Behind Artemis stood two more girls: One was tall and lean, with a bushel of blonde hair tied loosely together with chopsticks. Her eyes were a peculiar color of greenish bluish greyish, as if she hadn't been able to decide on one so she'd chosen all three colors. The colorful orbs were vacant, and stared at Artemis with force. Around her hand was a long vine.

Next to her was a shorter, stronger looking girl, with long dark hair was blue highlights. Sea green orbs held a familiar expression, the same as her companions, and on her hand was a mutated burn, covered with swirls of hissing water.

If these five weren't enough, there was still more. Two boys had appeared to Artemis's right, each with a twisted grin and a vacant expression. Both were very peculiar looking. The oldest of them all had dark skin, and honey brown eyes. He would've been completely normal except for his outfit; stark white with a long sword strapped to the belt. His posture, too, was one of importance and of a higher class. The second was of a lighter skin tone and considerably shorter. But his face held a multitude of scars across it in swirling patterns that couldn't have been there accidently.

By this time Artemis was freaking out. _This is bad. Very, very bad! _She couldn't fight them all of, especially since it seemed most had powers. _What do I do? Ugh, if only the team was here- Of course!_ The team! The team would help her. All she had to do was distract them long enough to send the S.O.S signal.

"What do you want?" the blonde archer asked, her voice wavering ever so slightly as her hand subtly began to work itself towards her quiver, where she kept a transmitter. "Who are you?"

"Psimon says he wants you," the dark haired girl- the one who was controlling water- said to her. "So he will have you."

"Simon…Simon…Wait, you mean Psimon, the mind controlling jerk who took all our memories?" _Done it!_ Artemis thought triumphantly through her panic as her finger found the button to the transmitter. But her face quickly fell as a loud beep echoes through the night, alerting the other children to her plan.

"Psimon says he wants you," the whip girl repeated in an eerie tone.

"So he will have you," the one with the scarred face finished.

"What the he- Oof!" There was a sudden weight on top of the archer, sending her spiraling downward, losing her footing to fall down the rooftop. Artemis let out a gasping scream as the ground was suddenly gone from under her. Thinking quickly, she twisted herself around to grab onto the gutter of the house. She was saved: for now.

Masked eyes rose to meet her attacker, eyes narrowing at the sight of yet another child. She had very shiny red hair, streaked with blackened locks, and swept carelessly to the side. Producing from her back were two very large reptilian wings. Strong hands were latched onto Artemis's wrists and were covered with light scaring. Not that the archer noticed. She was still absorbed in the wings.

"Oh yeah, completely normal; there is a girl with wings!" she muttered as she felt herself behind pulled up. And she guessed they weren't saving her from the kindness of their hearts.

"Psimon says he wants you, so-"

"So he will have me, yeah yeah, I've heard," Artemis muttered. Suddenly she was twisting in the winged girl's grasp to lash out with. With a swiftly aimed kick she sent the girl reeling backwards, saved at the last second from falling by her wings.

Artemis had little time to savor her triumph. The boy with the sword was running forward, the metallic lust of the blade glinting in the moonlight. But the archer was ready. She kicked out at the hilt, sending the blade rushing past her. Twisted gracefully, she reached for her quiver and sent two arrows out, one after the other. They both landed before the first boys, sending an explosion knocking them backwards.

But she'd forgotten about the girls. Artemis felt something touch her and she looked down to hind a vine around one ankle, and a whip around the other. With a jolt she was flying forwards and being dragged across the rooftop. Her bow went flying out of her hand and she watched desperately as it fell out of sight to the ground three levels below her. _This is it! I'm screwed._ The archer closed her eyes and waited. But the moment of pain and death didn't come.

Her grey orbs opened again, and there was Robin. He was flipping across the rooftop like it was his second home, easily balancing across the tiles. Batarangs- or did he call them birdarangs?- were flying everywhere, exploding in the air just enough to keep the group of kids away from him. Artemis felt two hands enclose around her again, and she yelped, sending her fist flying towards her attacker.

"Ugh, Artemis!" came a familiar voice, "I think you broke your nose. What kind of thank you is that? Here's your stupid bow!"

"Baywatch!"

"Yeah?"

"What're you doing here?"

"I got your signal."

"What about M'gann and Superboy and Aqualad?"

"What? Am I not enough?" Artemis said nothing as Kid Flash finished whipping the blood from his nose. Once he was done his eyes rose up away to meet her patient face. He sighed. "Fine. I think Aqualad's still on that secret mission. And M'gann and Superboy have finally discovered the joys of homework."

"…Seriously? Homework?"

"Yep."

"Damn it! So I only get you guys?"

What are we not enough? We've been doing this way longer then both Superboy and M'gann and _you_ combined, so don't star-"

"Hey, love birds," Robin's voice called to them as the acrobat did a backflip over the buzz cut boy. "Little help?"

"Sorry," Artemis called over to him. Kid Flash just grinned and shot forward, swerving clumsily over the tiles. The blonde rolled her eyes and began to take aim. _Carefully align target with arrow, bring back arm, and fire. _The bright green arrow flew through the air and landed directly in the buzz cut boy's chest. Sparks flew as it electrocuted him, sending the large boy to his knees.

"Shark Bait!" The call halted everything. Artemis's dark grey orbs went straight to the source; it was the spikey haired boy who'd called out. And even more important: his eyes were more focused, and he wasn't attacking anymore. "What the…What happened? Where am I? What the hell's going on?"

"Psimon says he wants you, so he shall have you," the buzz cut boy- Shark Bait- answered back, rising and lumbering towards Artemis.

"Yeah, what the hell is going on?" Artemis agreed as she readied another arrow. "You all just came and attacked me, and now you act like you have no idea what's going on! Who are you anyway?"

"Because I don't! I don't even remember leaving Bialya! And my name's Sin."

"Bialya?" Kid Flash repeated with a dumbstruck voice as he knocked down the whip girl and the boy with the sword.

"Yeah, my team wanted to save this Jr. Justice League team…"

"Wait a second I think I know what's going on," Robin announced as he let three of his disks fly. "You said Psimon! Isn't he the telepath? I think your friends are being mind controlled."

"Well that would explain why I can't get through to them telepathically."

"You're a telepath? Why can't you just restore their minds then?"

"I'm not nearly that strong. I'd only have a chance of doing that if they were all asleep or something…"

"I think I can arrange that," Robin replied. "Hold your breath." Before anyone had a chance of questioning him, the air was thick with grey smoke. Loud coughing sounds could be heard, and then with seven loud thuds they all fell. As the smoke cleared up, only Robin, Artemis, Kid Flash, and Sin were left standing with blue lips and red faces. "Alright you can breathe now," Robin gasped. It took a few moments before they could all breath normally.

"What was that?"

"Knock out gas. You think you can get into their minds now?"

"I'll try, but I'm not promising anything." Although Sin was clearly trying to hide it, it was obvious how worried he was.

The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A minute passed. Then one. Then ten. And then suddenly Shark Bait jolted upwards, eyes wide.

The three sidekicks readied themselves for an attack, but there was no need. The boy only rose from his position in a dazed and confused manor. "What the?" he questioned, but Robin, Artemis, and Kid Flash only shook their heads, gazes moving to the others patiently.

Soon enough everyone was awake with their memories restored. Sin was leaning against Shark Bait, breathing harshly but playing with a tired smile. He was very proud of himself.

"Where are we?" Oceana- they had all identified themselves upon awakening- asked, her eyes blinking furiously at what was half of her sworn enemies: the 'Jr. Justice League' as Sin has put it.

"Better question; what were you doing in Bialya?" Kid Flash replied.

"Better question: what the heck is going on?"

"Better question:-"

"Enough!" Robin interrupted, "I think we all have some explaining to do."

…**..**

**At first I was going to make Ghost get hurt and then Ellie would break free of the mind control, but then I realized that it'd have to be a telepathic because I'd need them all to be free. But I'm going to have a lot of nice couple moments soon!**

**Question: If you weren't allowed to choose your own character whose your favorite and least favorite character?**

**Alright I want to apologize on not working on any of my stories. To tell you all the truth I completely lost interest, had writers block, and had no time.**

**I'm in High School, and it sucks, as I'm sure many of you know. But my grades were slipping and I'm not very good at homework and all that. So that was one of my reasons for taking a break from writing on FF.**

**Also I don't want to write a chapter which I made while half paying attention, and not caring. That's just not a good author is it? I hate when people do that, because they're just never good chapters.**

**But not one to leave things half done, so I'm going to continue writing and finishing the stories I started. I'll try to update as much as possible, but I'll only have time to write on the weekends so I'm telling everyone who's actually still bothered with my writing now that the updates will be few and far between.**

**That being said, is there anyone who actually cares? Anyone who'll actually read my updates and review. Because if so, please tell me now. I won't update if not that many people are bothered.**

**Ok, thank you all, and sorry for the absence**


	9. Terrors

**(Gotham City September 7 10:13)**

**(Oceana)**

Gotham was a strange city. Strange things happened there. It was a commonly known fact. After all, there was a resident _clown _for a super villain, and some lady dressed as a _cat_ stealing jewelry all over the place. Also the city's main crime fighting source was a psychopathic man dressed as a _bat_ with a tights wearing acrobatic _child_ as a sidekick. So it was safe to say that eleven kids on top of a rooftop at night wasn't as strange a sight as you'd think. And even their conversation wasn't that crazy, if you'd only think about where they all were at the time.

"So, what you're saying is that this guy called Psimon took over our minds with some sort of telepathic power? That makes no sense!" Luminate was crying out shrilly, eyes widening comically as her hazel orbs danced between Robin, Artemis, and Kid Flash.

"You do know telepathic means the ability to communicate through the mind right? Kind of like what Sin does. And the Martians?" Shark Bait asked slowly. One of his eyebrows cocked upwards as realization dawned on Luminate's face. We all loved her, but she wasn't the smartest of people.

"Oh…well that helps…but I was talking about the P in front of his name! Why is that necessary? Why can't it be Simon without the P?"

"What doesn't make sense is how you got to Bialya?" Artemis cut in. Her voice scraped across our ear drums like a cheese grater as she angrily narrowed her dark eyes.

"Oh, there was a-" Luminate started to explain before a gentle hand cupped around her mouth. Sona loomed over her, his cat like features glinting with the moonlight dangerously, as he cast her a warning glance.

"Sona…got us…tickets," Ghost mumbled, quickly pulling himself in front of Luminate, growling lightly. "He's a tribal prince. Very rich."

Behind them, Luminate's features contorted into confusion as Shark Bait leaned to whisper something to her. From where I stood I could hear something that sounded like '_you think they'd let us fly a stolen plane without a liscense?'_

"Then what's a tribal prince doing h-"

"Ask no questions," Sin answered, smoothly covering up the blunder, "And we tell no lies, Speedy."

"It's Kid Flash!"

"Of course it is, Flash Boy," Ghost muttered, grinning cheekily.

"I- you- ugh!"

"Not that I don't like watching KF make a fool out of himself," Robin smirked, pulling a noise of indignation from Kid Flash, "But next time you guys feel the need to save us…don't. Now we gotta go, before Batman decides to freak out on me again…"

"Wait, does that mean you haven't already called him through some weird secret gadget thing and you aren't stalling us while you wait for the whole league to come and arrest us?" I asked. I'd been glaring at the three sidekicks since my mind had been recovered, and I still wasn't sure if we could trust them or not. Last time we trusted Robin he got us arrested.

"…No. Sorry about that…I did a little research on Ghost when I-"

"Betrayed us." Dragon accused. She too had been silent the whole time, analyzing Artemis, Kid Flash, and Robin to test for betrayal.

"Yeah, that. I didn't know you were forced to kill. I just knew you were wanted for murder."

"It doesn't matter now. We're all fine and not arrested and we got Sin and Shark Bait out of it too." Ceridewen, always the pacifist, reasoned as she gestured to the newest members of the team. But Luminate wasn't having any of it.

"It doesn't matter?" she gasped. "You got us sent to fire trucking jail!"

"Fire trucking?" Kid Flash questioned.

"She means fucking. You sent us to fucking jail." Sin seemed as angry as Luminate was, although he hadn't even been a part of that fiasco. He'd heard enough about it though.

"And you know how much crud-monkeys we had to go through to get out of there? Luminate continued, ignoring the interruption. "The Flash _and _Superman _and _Batman came to get us! Was the league bored or something? I mean seriously! They needed three superheroes to take down a group of kids. I swear my whip should be around your neck!"

"…Crud- monkeys?"

"Crap! Do you know how much crap they had to go through?" Sin translated, "And there was Martian Manhunter too and I swear if I didn't know that _fire_ was the Martian's weakness I'd probably be brain dead by now. Do you guys enjoy mind destruction or something?"

"Sin, Luminate!" I finally called, strutting over to the two red faced teens, "enough. I think it's time to just forgive and forget." There was silence. A long and disbelieving silence. I knew I looked like a hypocrite, considering all the things I'd said against the sidekick club before, but now that I thought about it, if I was them I'd have probably done the same thing. I wouldn't have let a murderer go just like that. We shouldn't have been so naive as to think they would either. And I told them that, right after Sin had let out all his rage against whatever issue he had with the Costumes and Luminate had muttered every fake swear word she could think of.

Finally it was settled. All was forgiven. Even Dragon, who'd been attempting to subtly burn Kid Flash's hair off without him noticing, had backed down and accepted the apologies. Robin and Artemis left for their homes, and Kid Flash ran straight back to Central City.

"Let the force be with you!" Ghost had called out after the sidekicks, earning a few funny looks.

"And beware the Jabberwocky!" was Ceridwen's contribution to our already bad image.

"What is it with you and the Jabberwocky?" Shark Bait asked.

"He's out there!"

"Oh, ok," he accepted, as if that really was a good explanation. We sat in silence for a few seconds, feet dangling from the rooftop, and eyes scanning the flying lights below.

"What a night, eh?" Ceridwen finally asked as she let herself fall flat so that her back was against the roof and eyes to the sky.

"Yeah, that's the last time I try a mind link!" Sin declared. He was leaning against Shark Bait subtly and his eyes were half closed. _'Brain restoration takes a lot out of you, huh? Well at least we know your weakness now; some weird guy with an unnecessary P in front of his name.'_

"But it was so cool!"

"Last. Time."

"Kill joy."

"You're such a child." Ceridwen stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation. Without even looking at her Sin muttered, "Put it away before I cut it off."

"You can't do that! You wouldn't be able to hold me still long enough."

"Nonsense." This was Shark Bait talking. "There's s a pressure point just on the side of the neck. If he goes about it the right way, you should be knocked out for a good hour."

"But-"

"And there's another one just by the elbow too. If you press down hard enough she'd be out like a light." It was Ghost who'd interrupted Ceridwen this time. He grinned absently and didn't seem to realize just what he'd said until he noticed the weird look his girlfriend was sending him. "Me and Shark Bait are ex-assassins too, remember. Just because we don't go threatening people all the time like Sin does, doesn't mean we don't know stuff too."

"I don't threaten people…all the time…" There was a buzz of 'yes you do's' and 'all the times' from everyone before silence relapsed again.

"There's something that I can't understand, Sin," Sona said suddenly, bringing his warm brown orbs to meet the archer's bright blues.

"What?"

"You always say you don't have much power and everything, correct?" There was a tight nod from Sin and Sona continued. "But you seem to be able to do everything the Martians can do. You can form a mind link and restore our minds just like they can. What's the difference?"

"Well, err…" Sin trailed off, and his boyfriend quickly offered a:

"It's difficult to explain."

"Try," was Sona's blunt answer.

"Alright," Sin muttered, which surprised all of us. He usually wasn't one to reveal when he wasn't up to revealing. "Honestly, I'd have- I do have- as much power as Martian Manhunter -if I tried. I mean, I took him out easily enough, remember? But I don't have any…control. I can do the small things fine, but when I put too much power in it…I can do some damage. Like knocking out Martian Manhunter. Any other telepath wouldn't have put so much power into that simple image, so he wasn't expecting it. And that wasn't a good idea for me to do. I could've done some serious damage. I've done it before too. Accidently of course, but I've gotten too reckless when trying to get information. So I've just decided to stick to the simple tricks.

"Oh," was all Sona had to say. Again silence blanketed over us, and again not for very long.

"I have an idea!" Dragon suddenly announced. She surprised us all by jumping upward from her seat with enthusiasm.

"What?"

"We should follow Robin and Artemis! Find out where they live…figure out their secret identity...What do you think Ceridwen?"

"No way! We'll get caught. This's a _bat_ we are talking about."

"Bat smat cat what, whatever!"

"It's a terrible idea, right Oceana?" Ceridwen turned to me smugly, clearly expecting my backing of her belief. After all my 'forgive and forget' talk, she knew I'd want to keep the good terms we had with the little league. But I was never one for consistency.

"Actually I think we should. Why not have something over them for a change? We wouldn't tell anyone of course, but it'd be handy to know…you know, just in case."

"But it's too late anyway!"

"Not if Dragon flies. She can take one of your vines or something and leave a trail."

"Of course you need my vines!"

"You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Yes I do."

"Yeah, you're right, you do, anyone else coming?"

"Nah," Luminate shrugged, who'd been listening in to the conversation. "Me and Ghost are going to watch Die Hard tonight."

"Oh, can me and Sin watch it with you?" Shark Bait asked hopefully. Sin didn't look nearly as pleased by the proclamation.

"Sure. We can make it a double date."

"Alright. Have fun guys. Don't kill anyone. Sona you coming or what?"

"Err," Sona hummed, glancing towards the two couples, who were busy discusing popcorn or something. "…Please." He jumped up eagerly to join us, taking a position next to Ceridwen.

"Alright, let's go figure out these guys secret identity's. Can't be too hard, right?"

**Here is another chapter! Yay. It was supposed to be much longer; I never actually got to any of what I was planning. But after I got to five pages, which is about how long the rest of the chapters are, I decided to just cut it in half so this will be part one and I'll get part two out asap. **

**Please review! They are great motivates. Thank you **

**DaughterofSelene103**

**Blue Torpedo**

**XxBatgirl-RobinxX**

**and Cryptvokeeper **

**for reviewing last time, and anyone else for staying with this story after the long absence.**


	10. Confrontation

**(Gotham City September 7 11:00)**

**(Ceridwen)**

To describe Gotham at night was to describe a furious predator on a hunt in hell. Gotham was the wasteland of despair, the pit of darkness, and the swamp of misery all in one. It's pitiful living conditions were on par only to Bludhaven, and at least that city preached its death sentence in the name. Gotham was easily my least favorite city. Metropolis was nicer, as was Star City. Chicago was the best though, because of the no vigilante laws. It was much calmer there.

A frosty wind dragged across the night, seeping through my clothes and sending shivers down my spine. For the 100th time I wished I was with Ellie, Will, Manu, and Cole. At least they were warm. And Die Hard would be so much more interesting than this.

Me, Sona, and Oceana had lost Dragon fifteen minutes ago. She'd claimed she was only going to scout ahead to close in on Artemis and Robin (who we'd lost thirty minutes ago) and come right back with directions. So far she hadn't kept her promise.

"It's been ages!" I finally hissed, turning to our 'leader'. "Can't I go find out what's taking her so long?" _Or I could sneak back to home base…I'm sure I wouldn't be missed…_

"You wouldn't fine her," Oceana reasoned, breaking into my thoughts of deception. On her face played a knowing smirk; she knew my real plan. And she knew that the lame cover of trying to find Rux would be the best I could come up with. "She's too fast and it's been too long."

"Exactly. She shouldn't be gone so long."

"We lost the two kids half an hour ago. She can only go so fast. Especially when she has to track down a _bat_ while trying to stay hidden. I doubt she'll find anything at all."

"Then why'd you let her go?"

"Because I couldn't think of anything better!"

"That's the lamest plan I've ever heard."

"Well then sorry for the disappointment."

"You should be. If this was a real emergency we'd all be dead now. And to think, you're the one who's supposed to lead us when the zombies attack. You know, I'm starting to doubt your planning skills."

"Oh for the last time the apocalypse is not a real thing!"

"Yes it is. Will said it was. Will's never wrong."

"You and Will would go live in a storm drain because Chicken Little thought the sky was falling."

"You think that'd help if the whole sky was falling?"

"…what? No! I was- what?"

"I was kidding."

"Oh…"

"Yep." Silence took hold again, lapsing between an awkward hush and a comforting peace. My eyes roamed to Sona, who was busy cleaning his sword- I think he called it an urumi- and had made a point of ignoring the conversation.

"Where do you think she is, Sona?" I asked. "You haven't said anything."

"From my experience, it's better for some people to think you're an idiot, then to open your mouth and prove it."

"Oh…" I mumbled, not really knowing how to respond to that. His face was hidden in the darkness, so I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. Or if it was supposed to be an insult. I allowed conversation to cease,

He seemed almost at home in the dark as Ghost was (and Ghost was like a Batman in assassin style). The boy's dark locks flowed into the darkness like ink, misting at the ends so I couldn't separate hair from night. His cat like features settled perfectly into the setting, accompanied with flashing dark eyes. He was…perfect.

I couldn't help but sigh at the last thought, my heart ripping just a centimeter more. He still took no notice of me. He didn't look, didn't talk, and didn't even acknowledge me most of the time. _Am I invisible to him?_

Several more minutes stretched by in complete silence. My eyes never left the skies; expecting to see Dragon's reptilian wings at any moment. But there was nothing. _What's taking her so long? Why did she go by herself? Oh no! What if the Liberty Core's found us and they took her…What if they're going to use her and trap us…what if they've already gotten Ellie and the boys…what if-_

"Boo."

A high pitched scream sounded and I spun around, ready to stick a vine through someone's ear and out the other.

_…What if Robin and Artemis caught Dragon,_ I concluded when I found, instead of an attacker, said sidekicks with Rux in their clutches. _If course!_

"I think you're missing something." Artemis muttered, pushing the younger girl forward. Dragon complied, glaring fiercely as she rejoined us.

"You caught an untrained little girl. It's nothing to be proud about." I muttered as Robin smirked from his position next to Oceana. "If that's the best you can do, no wonder Gotham's such a crappy place."

"I'd like to see you guys to half the stuff I do!" Robin snapped. His smirk was gone. I smiled at the fact that I'd wiped it off. These sidekicks were really getting under my skin.

"Well, it's easy to be brave at a distance," Dragon replied with a nod at Artemis's bow and Robin's bat-a-rangs. She was quick to recover from the shame of her capture, and fire blazed in her eyes. I was just glad it hadn't made its way out of her mouth. We really didn't need _another _fight…although we could totally take them un-brainwashed!

"Please, you don't know the meaning of the word fear!" Artemis shrieked. Her voice was like nails against a blackboard. "But then again, you don't know the meaning of most words."

"Just because you wear those costumes, doesn't make you brave!" Sona jumped in, snarling like a savage animal.

"There's a reason we wear these masks, we've earned them!"

"And if I was as ugly as you, I'd wear a mask too, but that's beside the point." Robin opened his mouth to retort, looking ready to punch Sona at any second. Both he and Artemis looked absolutely livid. I could tell the fragile peace between our two teams was ready to shatter…but then again peace wasn't much fun.

"Alright, alright! Guys, stop it." Oceana had jumped in. It seemed she too had sensed the danger. She was always spoiling our fun… Then again we'd be dead without her. "Look, we're sorry we followed you but-" The obvious lie Rose'd been about to tell them was cut short by a sudden noise. The six of us spun around. It wasn't good.

The Liberty Core.

There were thirteen men, all draped in thick black coats. I could barely see them through the darkness, and their outlines blurred like apparitions. But the shiny guns were obvious against the picture, spelling death for my team. I audibly gulped.

"Give the meta's to us. The humans are free to go," came a gruff voice from the black mass. I felt Oceana shiver next to me. My hand reached out to clasp hers.

"I don't think so." Sona was in front of us, sword raised, and eyes gleaming. Despite the situation I couldn't help but be pleased with his urge to protect us.

"I don't think he meant you, Sona," Dragon hissed. Her words sent my gaze towards Robin and Artemis, who'd been shocked into silence. Would they really leave us?

"Nice try," Artemis answered. I smiled. "What he said." With a nod towards Sona in explanation, both Robin and the archer were charging forward, weapons raised. We didn't need to be asked twice. Me, Oceana, Sona, and Dragon followed. We were ready for a fight.

"Who are these guys?" Robin asked

"The Liberty Core," was Dragon's answer as she jumped up in the air. Her wings broke free to lift her up into the midnight sky.

"Who?" was the green archer's input. She'd already drawn her bow and was taking careful aim. "Robin, you got anymore knock-out gas on you?"

"I may have used it all up before…"

"Just perfect!"

"The Liberty Core's an underground organization; set on kidnapping the meta's who won't be missed. They experiment on them, run tests, you know like every group of crazies in si-fi movies. Usually they just outright murder everyone though." Oceana was busy spitting boiling water at everyone who got too close. The spray scorched my skin whenever I came within five feet.

"Why hasn't the Justice League heard about this?"

"Because the Justice League's just a bunch of big headed middle-aged adults having midlife- crises' in spandex." I yelled. My vines were everywhere, sneaking across the building like worms, and then shooting forward to yank at unexpected guns. It wasn't too long before our enemies were weaponless.

"Hey!"

"Oh yeah, and there's a bunch of stupid teens in spandex too."

"Not what I meant."

"I know."

"Guys, a little help!" I turned to fine Sona with his sword locked against a gun. _I guess I didn't get all their weapons…_ "I got you," I called. With a flick of my wrist, a vine had grabbed the gun and pulled. Its owner went down with it, determined to keep hold of his toy. But Robin was there, his fist connecting with the man's head with a crack. "No fair, I had him!"

"You're welcome!" he answered. I rolled my eyes before moving on. There was plenty of fun to be had. Racing forward, I shot out an arm with a closed fist. The vines copied, thrusting forward to curl and twist themselves around two men. They tightened and tightened, closing around their chests and necks. It took exactly fifty three seconds for them to collapse, unconscious.

"Not bad." I turned to see Robin, his ever present smirk taunting and his foot atop three men. "Buuuttt, I can do better."

"Show off."

"Tree hugger."

"Airhead."

"Dope."

"Bimbo."

"Boy Blunder!- Look out!" Behind him a huge skyscraper of a man had jumped out of the darkness, fist raised. But my vines took hold of his wrist, and I pulled him backwards. Another vine shot up, twisting around his throat. I used them both to yank him against a wall. He fell limp, a bloody cut across his hairline. "Now we're even."

The battle had taken only a matter of minutes. Without their guns, the men were nothing but weakened dogs. Given, they were highly trained fighting dogs, but dogs all the same. I felt pride bloom in my chest as my eyes settled on the limp bodies.

"So, err, what do we do with them?" Sona asked.

"I'll handle it." Robin answered. He and Artemis were already tying up the men. "Batman'll want to investigate these Liberty Core idiots anyway."

"You won't find anything." Dragon warned. She was already ready to take off. "But, err, thanks for the help. This time it was Artemis who smirked. Looking up from her knot tying she replied;

"Anytime."

**I know, it was a really bad action scene. But there's going to be another one next chapter with Luminate, Will, Ghost, and Shark Bait. Because did you really think they could peacefully watch a movie? Nooooo!**

**XxBatgirl-RobinxX: I know I was kind of neglecting Ceridwen and Oceana and everyone during the fight, but that was because they were going to have their own argument in this chapter.**

**Ranlou: Thanks for reading and reviewing :D And sorry for my obvious Sona neglection, but he's going to have a big part in a few chapters.**

**Cryptvokeeper: Isn't Die Hard the best! And thank you. I love Luminate. Her personality is really close to one of my best friends, so I'm basing her off of that. **

**Blue Torpedo: Thank you :D**

**By the way my new story is out: Outlawed, so if you guy like my writing I'd appreciate it if you'd take a look. And I'm open to ideas for the plot, since nothing's set in stone yet.**

**And a sequal WILL BE MADE to Lone Riders. I'm thinking up ideas right now. There will be the time skip, but nothing else is decided so I'm open to any ideas. **


	11. Home Front

**(Metropolis September 7 11:30)**

**(Shark Bait's POV)**

There were many great mysteries in the world, like crop circles or Area 51. And how Dragon and Sin managed to get not only a television, but a DVD player was one of them. They never explained how, and we were afraid to question them too much. But it didn't really matter. What mattered was that we had a TV, popcorn, and Die Hard. Even Will was happy, although he pretended otherwise.

"Come on, play it," Ellie hissed to her boyfriend. She was curled up on a chair, her feet tucked underneath her, with enough room left for Cole to snuggle up beside her.

Me and Will had taken the couch. I was spread out, back pressed against the cushions and chest facing the TV. Will lay the same way, except his back was pressed against me, and his head was just under my chin. He was the perfect size to fit comfortably.

"I'm doing it, I'm doing it." And sure enough there was a flicker of color and the movie began to play. "Now shush," Cole whispered. He scurried back to his girlfriend, perching himself beside her.

"…Sin?"

"Mmhm?"

"How did you get the TV ag-"

There was a chorus of, "Don't ask" and "You don't need to know" and "Not that again!

* * *

The movie had been playing for an hour and two minutes when Will first tensed.

At an hour and thirteen minutes Cole jerked his head towards the window and stared for three minutes before shaking it off.

After an hour and nineteen minutes I thought I could hear faint whisperings outside, but I put it off to background noise.

The movie had been playing for an hour and twenty five minutes when Ellie screamed.

"Someone's outside! They were watching us."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, Manu. That's not something I'd make up, is it?"

"She's right dude. And I think I saw them too."

Cole got up from his chair and walked suspiciously towards the window. Will had paused the movie after tumbling off the couch with me, and was now standing warily beside the other ex-assassin. They were both craning their heads awkwardly to get a glimpse through the dark night.

"Then why didn't anyone say anything!"

"Well, did you see anything?" Cole whispered from across the room.

"No….But I heard whispering…"

"Ha! So-"

**Boom! Crash! **

* * *

The darkness was clearing. Bits and pieces of noise filtered through to my brain, while small pinpricks of light fought their way through the rubble. I must've blacked out for a few seconds. It seemed something had exploded….maybe a gas leak…or

Wow the long break from training must really be taking its toll on me.

A bomb had exploded! Obviously!

"Sin?" I called. My first instinct had always been to check on Will, and him with me. The fact that he hadn't called out to me was already a warning sign. When we were partners with the assassin's league we'd known many friends who'd perished by a simple bomb. Like Image, or Hood.

"Sin?" I called again. My throat was burning and I felt ready to cough up my lungs. The air was thick with dust. I could barely breathe without coughing.

"Shark Bait?"

"Sin!" It had to be Will. Only he would know not to use our secret identities after an attack. Anyone could know our codenames, but our I.D.'s would remain the most useful undiscovered.

"No, Ghost." Or Cole…Of course he would know that too, with his assassin training._ Stupid Shark Bait! Think, dude._

"You alright G?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Fine. Have you seen Sin or Luminate?

"We're right here!"

By the time I'd reached Cole through the rubble, and we both turned to face where a large slab of glass had come crashing down. It now leant up against what had been the kitchen wall. Between the two, ripped up but alive, were Luminate and Sin.

I would've ran over and kissed the daylights out of my boyfriend right there and then, but at that moment a huge slab of concrete separated us. But later.

"Was it just me?" Will coughed, "but did our house just explode?"

"Oh no, I noticed too." That voice. It was familiar. But it wasn't ours. My head rose upwards to fine five leering figures above the slabs of wall and dusts.

"Blood V. The Analyst. Chokeman. Anonymous. Cannon Ball." I ticked off the names one by one as the familiar faces came to light. These were the Deadly Five. An elite group of assassins. They specialized in the painful and the impossible. Especially when it came with hunting down rouge agents…Like me, Ghost, and Sin.

"Crap." It seemed Ghost had figured it out too.

"Ghost. Sin. Shark Bait. You're hereby declared deceased by the Assassin League standards. We have orders to terminate you. Prepare to die."

* * *

**(Ghost's POV)**

The Analyst had been taken down first. She'd been no match for Shark Bait's power. The assassin now lay against a pile of concrete with blood trailing from her forehead. Cannon Ball had more luck, however, and now Many was unconscious on the other side of the room.

I'd learned a very important detail about Sin that day: never hurt his boyfriend. After Manu had been taken down the small boy had knocked out Chokeman and Cannon Ball before Blood V had managed to tie him down. It hadn't been long before Luminate had followed him, but not before taking out Anonymous.

Now it was just me and Blood V.

"You don't have to do this," I hissed, dodging yet another attack. I turned, using the wall to flip over Blood V's head. My hands came down as I did and I managed to yank her hair forward, almost snapping her neck. But she was too skilled to fall for that once. She flipped with me and pushed me down to the floor in a head of dust.

"I know," she purred. "But I want to." And she meant it. If there was one Assassin who absolutely loved their job, it was Blood V. She even enjoyed the part about killing children. "But don't worry. I won't kill you just yet. You're girlfriend looks pretty tasty." Her tongue lashed out tauntingly. And what a tongue it was. A good two feet long, it was forked at the end like a snake, and preyed behind three rows of dagger like teeth. No one knew if she was alien, mutant, or some byproduct of an experiment gone wrong, but she was deadly and she wasn't human. Not anymore.

"Have it your way then," I growled. My feet came up, pushing in her stomach. She was thrown from her position over me and flew through the air to slam into a pile of rubble.

"You nasty piece of filth," she shrieked with an animalistic growl. "You'll pay for that."

"No, you'll pay. For threatening my family." I was done. I was done with the Assassins. I was done with owing my life to them. I was done with killing for them. I had a new family now. I had friends, a life, and freedom. No one was going to take that away from me. Now even Blood V…She wasn't even human anyway…not really…

My hand rose in the air. Behind me a huge slab of wall rose too. My hand moved forward. The wall copied it. I let my hand fall.

So did the wall.

Right on top of Blood V.

"You can take that back to the Master."

* * *

**Hello everybody, and sorry for the delay. I got sick over the weekend so I couldn't do anything.**

**Also I have a new story up called **_**Underrated and Underage **_**on FictionPress, so PLEASE go look at it and tell me what you think. I could do with some opinions. I'm called The Dark Squire over there. Because apparently The Dark Knights taken by some guy in a bat suit…who would've thought…?**

**Alright, Review!**

**And I'm still fishing for any sequel ideas.**


	12. Revelation

**(Bludhaven October 10 7:13)**

Bludhaven: a small city just south of Gotham, and as far away from Metropolis, both physically and metaphorically, as you could get. Heroes were seen as wretched omens here, and the popular taboo was backed up by most of the residents. Crime riddled the streets, propaganda and lies made up its news, and corruption layered the government systems. It was a city worse than Gotham.

Bludhaven was also the home of the Lone Riders.

**...**

"Now we're going to be late getting back. Was it really necessary to stop them, Oceana?" Again, Dragon had to wonder why on earth she and Oceana were always picked to go buy groceries. They always returned late with some tale of stopping a robbery or mugging. Dragon blamed her luck. She also blamed Oceana's constant willingness to help. They'd been shot at three times by the people they were trying to aid, just because of their powers. And those who didn't try to kill them always ran off like the gates to hell were opening behind them. They never got thanked, or even a smile.

"You would've let those thugs rob that old man blind?"

"We could've at least kept the money…"

"Dragon!"

"Joking!" she cried, hands going up in a pacifying gesture. Once Oceana turned away, she added under her breath, "The credit card Batman gave us is good enough for now."

"Oh man!" Oceana crouched down, scooping a worn book from the sidewalk. "They ripped my book. It was a good one, too." Dragon smiled innocently, plucking the object out of her friend's hands to analyze its contents. She looked as if she'd never seen a book before in her life. As Oceana tried to snatch it away, the younger girl simply scurried into the darkness with a smirk.

"What kind of book is this?" she called, her words echoing through the darkness, "Death is not extinguishing the light-"

"Dragon!" Oceana called furiously. Her small figure was a faint light amongst the gloom of the decrepit city. She twisted like a droplet of water across the sidewalk and skidded between buildings. The idea of fear never even touched her mind. They could handle whatever might come across their path.

Or, at least, that's what she thought.

"Dragon?" Oceana repeated. The faint clip of footsteps had faded away, and a slight jolt of annoyance shot through her at the notion of having been abandoned by her friend. They were as close as sisters, but Dragon had a mean streak. Leaving Oceana wouldn't be out of character for her. The silence pressed on. "Rux?"

Oceana continued on, absently stumbling through the darkness. She vowed to continue looking for Dragon at least for a little while, and then head home. There was a bigger chance of finding her friend there, wondering what'd taken her so long.

"If she's taken off," Oceana muttered, turning into a dark street, "I'm going to drown her in her sleep."

"Well, that's not very nice, is it, mutant?" Oceana jumped three feet in the air as the alien voice cut into her reality. She twisted around, and was met with a horrifying sight.

A giant of a man stood amongst the darkness. His eyes were void of light and hard as flint. A toothy grin was etched on his face, drawing the skin tight across his haggard face, where scar upon scar had been painted across the surface. There was also a dark coat draped across his towering stature. It bled into the inky murk of the night, making as if his body weren't there at all.

The worst part, however, was the gun he had pointed at the girl wrapped in his arms: Dragon.

"We've been tracking you," he hissed, tongue flicking loose to track spittle across his chin.

"W-we?" Oceana stuttered, feigning innocence. Her eyes flickered from Dragon to the stranger. She could read her friend's panic easily, although anyone else would've thought she'd remained blissfully calm.

"The Liberty Core!" the man cried. His boisterous laugh cut into Oceana's skull like a knife. She noted Dragon flinching as her capture shook with misplaced mirth.

"What do you want?" Oceana growled once the strange laughter had ceased.

"You!"

"I don't think so. Let go of my friend, and maybe we'll let you leave without some broken bones." The girl's words were laced with venom and dangerous. Silently, her hands twisted behind her. Without their enemy noticing Oceana had taken out her phone (they'd bought two for emergencies with Batman's credit card) and was now holding down the number eight. After five low rings through which Oceana could barely breathe, Ceridwen's voice answered. The water girl almost smiled; at least three of her team could track the location.

"I don't think so, kid." the gun wielding man continued, "You see, I made a little deal with the Liberty Core. I bring you and your little friends back, and they'll set me free. And I- AUGH!" His howl of pain surprised Oceana so much she dropped the phone. It clattered loudly to the pavement. Luckily their enemy was too preoccupied with his newly burnt hand to notice. Dragon was now five feet away from him, her expression as deadly as Oceana's. The man was cradling his hand; a hurt look on his face, as if he'd been insulted.

"We tried to warn you," Oceana smirked. Maybe they wouldn't need the team.

"And I tried to warn you," he growled back. The black coated figure flicked his unburnt hand upward and Dragon was pushed back by an unseen force. Oceana moved towards her friend, but she was given the same treatment and found herself splayed across the ground. "They said they wanted you," he hissed, "They never said they wanted you _alive_."

The gun was back, pointing directly at Dragon.

The fire girl was still recovering from her blow, shaking the stars away from her sight. A trickle of blood dripped down her forehead.

Oceana jumped to her feet. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slack as she shrieked.

"Dragon!"

Oceana leapt forward. _**BANG**_**!**

The bullet found its mark.

Oceana fell.

It took five seconds for Dragon to realize what'd happened.

It took six seconds for the Liberty Core Agent to realize.

He was a second too late.

A rush of fire erupted from Dragon's mouth. Flames were everywhere; blazing in her eyes, playing against her skin. They reached for her enemy like hands from the pit of hell. It was all the man could do to not fry; he ran.

…**.**

Oceana lay prone against the sidewalk, with trickling moonbeams gracing her pale skin. Long locks of dark hair were scattered against her quaking chest. It clumped together with smudges of dark, inky red. Just as the long cascade of tresses ended, a crimson pool began. It marred her skin gruesomely, conflicting with the fading pallor. She was a sight too often seen in the city.

She was dying.

Beside the girl sat Dragon. Her hair, too, was long and dark and threaded with blood. That was where the similarities ended. Dragon was sobbing, her chest violently heaving with every strangled breath. A river of tears flowed with abandon down the girl's cheeks. She was murmuring her friends name over and over again, unable to conjure up anything else. She couldn't move, she couldn't think, she could only stare.

Her best friend was dying.

From out of the darkness came a trickle of people. All teens and all crying. Two boys- Sona and Cole- began pressing against the bullet wound and shouting orders. Their panic was obvious. They were stopped, suddenly, by a trembling, ghostly hand and a weak shake of the dying girl's head. She knew what was happening. There was nothing that could be done.

Their leader was dying.

Two stood away from the group, silent in their grief. This was a scene too familiar for comfort, and too emotional to be taken in. Once alone, maybe Will would allow the pain to swallow him. Once the wounds weren't fresh, maybe Manu would allow himself to mourn. They had practiced this. They were used to it. Yet, tears silently fell to the scarlet strained ground, and their shoulders shook in grief.

Their comrade was dying.

The girls were feverishly babbling. "Rose, hold on, you'll be alright," they repeated, "Please, we can help you!" Their lies were appreciated, however useless. Starr feverishly began threading her figures through the dark mob of hair, and Ellie gripped onto Oceana's hand as if it were her only lifeline.

Their sister was dying.

The young girl took one last breath. Her ocean eyes rose to the sky and skimmed the stars once more. They were so bright; so beautiful. She could almost feel their touch against her skin. The light chased her pain away; it filled her with acceptance and happiness. Her death would not be in vain, nor had her death been wasted. She had shared something much greater then herself, and it would continue without her. That she was sure of. With a smile, Rose let go. Her spirit was weightless, and it flew away, like a whisper in the wind.

Oceana was dead.

….

As a mass the teens rose, as silent as falling snow. Three picked Oceana's body up with grace, and another slipped the dead girl's eyes closed with respect. The crowd continued down the dark streets, slowed down with heavy hearts. Only one lingered amongst the blood; to pick up a fallen book. It'd been thrown to the floor amongst the turmoil. A folded corner signaled where the reader had left off. Only a single sentence could be made out against the gory strain. It read:

"_Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come."_

**I tried as hard as I could to make this sad. I watched loads of super sad videos and I listened to sad songs. I may have emotionally scarred myself…Was it worth it? I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this little death scene. PLEASE REVIEW.**

**RIP Oceana. You will forever remain in our hearts.**

**And yes I did cry while writing this.**

**Sorry for the long wait guys. I was busy over the weekend writing for a contest. If you want to check out the piece I wrote, and I do think it's some of the best work I've ever written, here is the link: the-place-that-time-forgot-weekendchallenge-_s4187**

_**Also I'm still open to any ideas for the sequel, so please PM me with anything you want.**_

**Since I'd be pushing it if I tagged the sequel as Fanfiction, I think I'm going to move it to Ficitonpress, so I'll post the link for it when it's up. **


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